Alphabetically Insane
by PurpleSkye
Summary: This is in Response to Adaelie's Alphabet Challenge. A case of a mistaken identity leads him to her and the poor girl finds herself the subject of his fancy. G is for Games: Her idea of Spring Break did not include the Beach, Bikinis, Parkas, the Host Club and a game of Truth or Dare but what choice did she have? Close to none.
1. Abominations

**A/N:** _Kill me now for posting another story but there was just this challenge that I couldn't ignore. I promise I will still be updating _[Wanna Bet] _and _[My Prince and I]_ as soon as I possibly can. I actually have both the next chapters for those two and also for the other series I'm working on so please don't kill me just yet. I guess I should also apologize for vanishing on the face of fanfictiondotnet but there's a valid excuse. It's called _**[school work]**_. LOL. Anyway, this is a response to _**Adaelie**_'s _**Alphabet Challenge**_. And I've chosen the Little Devils as my puppets, though I still might include other pairings in the future letters. :D Please Enjoy!_

**DISCLAIMER: **_I own nothing, as far as I know. I do own any OCs that might appear in this alphabet series and of course, the plot is mine. :D No stealing please. Thanks!_

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**=(ALPHABETICALLY INSANE)=**

** [A]nonymously [a]n [A]bomination**

**FULL SUMMARY:** _After receiving an anonymous confession letter, the twins were once again up to their old antics. When their supposed lover hadn't come, the Hitachiin's peeved the only girl who did come. But all she had wanted was to get her paint brush from her locker._

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"What's that, Hikaru?"

"Another one." the older twin answered and already a playful smirk was plastered on his unbelievably handsome face.

His twin mimicked his expression for indeed, they hadn't responded to any confession letters in a long time. And they were beginning to get bored too.

**.o:O:o.**

"Just write anything." the annoyed brunette exclaimed through the receiver, which was situated between her shoulder and her ear; her hands were too busy doodling on her math homework.

"But I can't just do that! It has to be special!" the girl on the other end whined, sounding desperately in need of a helpful friend.

It was hard to say if Shinju Kaede was helpful. She often gave great advice but now that Mayu Airi was finally "taking action", as Kaede had always told her, the latter wasn't being of much use. All Airi needed was a wee bit of assistance in writing her love letter. Was that so much to ask?

"Ai-chan, come on. You're not seriously saying I write your letter for you, are you?" Kaede stated quite bluntly.

"I'm not as good a writer as you, Ka-chan. Please? Help me. . . ." Airi begged, her voice sounding on the verge of tears.

"Oh dear. Please don't cry." Kaede dropped her pen and was suddenly concentrating more on her telephone conversation.

"But - but - you're the only one who can help me!" Airi stuttered though deep inside she knew she had Kaede wrapped around her fingers.

"Wait. You're not really crying, are you?" Kaede questioned, suddenly suspicious.

"You're really making me cry, Ka-chan!"

"All right! All right! Sheesh." Kaede conceded; she'd have to face the fact that she was a sucker for tears.

"Really?" Airi's voice was still shaking.

"Yes. I think I made a poem in middle school that should be perfect."

**.o:O:o.**

"The view is perfect!" Kaede exclaimed, grinning exultantly.

She was in Ouran Academy's vast courtyard and she just found the perfect scene for her newest piece. In this corner of her filthy rich school, the breeze was enough to catch the bright pink petals before they could hit the ground and swirl them in the air before floating back to the ground once more. The sight was just like in her dream. She just had to paint it.

"Oh dear."

She dashed as quick as she could to her locker and being in the puffy yellow dress - that was the official High School uniform for girls - didn't stop her from sprinting lithely. As she turned the next corridor, a sight made her want to cease going that certain direction. However, with the pace she was going it was impossible to come to a full stop without stumbling on her own two feet. Curse the long yellow dress.

"Hey!"

The cause for her sudden desire to stop was also her savior. At least, the ginger-haired boy caught her before she hit the ground. But in all honesty, she'd rather have fallen than being in debt to this. . . . abomination!

"So it's you?" he asked, sounding surprised.

She met his hazel eyes with her emerald ones, questioning.

"Pardon me?" what was this boy saying? And where was his twin? Weren't they always together?

He did not answer but instead showed to the brunette a letter in pink stationery paper bearing his name in a neat scribble.

"Ah. So, you're Hikaru." Kaede said, not quite getting the point.

But her statement led only to more misundertandings.

"No. Hikaru told me to tell you he's sorry." he replied, looking sincerely apologetic.

Blah. Kaede knew never to believe what these devilish twins say. Hitachiin Hikaru, apologize? Ha! Did she just die and go to hell? Maybe this boy hadn't been her savior after all and she died in that corridor accident.

"But I think you're very pretty Kaede-chan!" Kaoru exclaimed and now Kaede was certain she was only having a nightmare. When would she wake up, she wondered stupidly.

"And - and I was wondering if you can go out with me instead?"

"Do you really think this game is funny?" Kaede muttered in complete disbelief.

That was the last straw. Did these two expect Kaede to believe that one of them is in love with her? She bowed her head, restraining her shaking fist from punching the face off this annoying abomination. Again, the innocent pink piece of paper caught her eye and finally she managed to put two and two together.

The Hitachiin Twins thought she, Shinju Kaede, had sent them that confession. True, it was her poem in there and she was even the one who put it at the proper desk but it was not from her.

"Airi didn't show?" it was not a question for the Hitachiin to hear but he heard it anyway and he was suddenly confused.

"Didn't you send this to me?" he questioned, brows furrowed.

"I thought you said you were Kaoru?" Kaede had declared, looking up immediately to the lying Hitachiin.

"I am Kaoru!" Hikaru defended in a vain attempt to salvage the situation.

"But the love letter is for Hikaru isn't it?" Kaede was one step ahead of him as she always had been.

"Do you know who sent this letter, Shinju-san?" Kaede turned her head at the sound of the voice. The other twin - Kaoru, as she had discovered - finally decided to show himself.

"Naturally."

"Then, who?"

"I'm not telling!" she smirked and tried to run away but she should have known she wouldn't get far.

She was caught easily with one twin grabbing a hold of each arm. They began walking towards who-knows-where to and Kaede could do nothing. Despite her pleas that weren't heard and her struggles that were useless, the twins were having fun.

"Where the hell are you two taking me?" Kaede demanded, thoroughly pissed off by now.

"We're taking our new toy out to play, of course!" they had said in unison and Kaede could only wonder what kind of sin she committed that made her receive this bad karma.

An afternoon with the twins must have sounded appealing to their loyal customers at the Host Club but to Kaede who always saw Hikaru and Kaoru to be nuisances, well, it was a whole other story.

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**SECOND A/N: **_Yes I am a very talkative person but hey, I just wanted to ask for reviews. Is that bad? LOL. And to make it clear, this is a sort of prologue for all the other one-shots because even though I said I'd be including other pairings, I'd still mostly be centering on this one. :D Anyway, I hope I can get to _**Z **_soon. LOL._ 25 more letters to go. . . . .

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	2. Bed Bugs

**A/N: **_I spent the whole day writing this. xD I hope it isn't as bad as I think it is. The idea was just totally random. I don't know if the twins were OOC. Sorry if I murdered their characters. . Pardon any typos because I made this in a hurry. Please read and review! :D_

**DISCLAIMER: **_If I owned even just one of the twins I would be totally happy! But I'm not happy so I don't own them. Aww. LOL. The plot and any character you don't recognize, my OCs probably, belong to me. :)  


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**=(ALPHABETICALLY INSANE)=  
[B]ed [B]ugs**

**FULL SUMMARY:** _That morning when she woke up, her head started spinning. That didn't stop her though from coming to school on what she considers to be the most important day of her life. But the next thing she knew, she woke up in an unfamiliar room and she wasn't alone in bed anymore._

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"Hey, are you all right, Ka-chan?" Airi's voice was a slur in the brunette's ears.

Kaede blinked twice, trying to focus her eyesight. She nodded once when she noticed her best friend waiting for her reply.

"I don't believe you, you know. Are you sick?" the dark-haired girl in the yellow dress asked again in disbelief.

"I'll be fine. I'm just a little dizzy." Kaede managed to choke out; she didn't know if she managed to sound normal or not.

"Kaede?"

"Wha-?"

"Kaede!"

**.o:O:o.**

"Kaede?"

The two ginger-haired boys looked up at the sound of their new toy's name with identical smirks on their handsome faces. Shinju Kaede had proved to be very amusing indeed. She might not have been the one who sent that letter a week ago but she knew who it had been. No matter how much they persuaded (maybe tortured would have been a better term) her to tell them who Hikaru's lover was, she never told them. Either she was such a loyal friend or she just enjoyed getting their attention. Well, the former seemed to compliment Kaede's personality better than the latter. Whichever it was, it would not change the fact that she was their toy.

"Kaede!"

Two pairs of hazel eyes could only watch in shock as their new toy fainted. At the same time the twins stood, both hoping to cushion her fall. Neither one of them would have been able to make it, anyway, since it all happened so fast.

"D'mn it, Kaede! You didn't tell me you were running a fever!" Kaede's friend - her name was Mayu Airi, Kaoru had deduced - exclaimed as she collapsed to the floor unable to support Kaede's weight as well as her own.

"Is she all right?" the whispers erupted the moment time in the class room seemed to start again.

The Hitachiins sighed. . .when had they held their breaths? They hadn't noticed before. Shinju Kaede was indeed something. When she had a perfectly valid excuse to skip school, she still chose to come anyway. What was she thinking, Hikaru wondered.

"Hitachiin-san, since you're already out of your seat, do you mind taking Shinju-san to the clinic?" as if on cue, their first period teacher entered the room and happened to quickly assess the situation.

"Which one of us, sensei?" Hikaru and Kaoru asked in unison.

"Both of you just go." the woman in her early thirties answered, unwilling to play the twins' games.

**.o:O:o.**

Kaede could feel warm sheets over her shoulders. She still felt cold, though. Her whole body felt heavy and her headache hadn't gone away. She was probably in the school clinic. She felt horrible.

"This sucks." she muttered, her voice sounded hoarse even to herself.

She had to wonder why she hadn't just skipped school and stayed home where the staff would have pampered her and listened to every one of her requests. And the answer that came to her was almost immediate.

_Art Club._

The preliminary results would come out today. She forced her green eyes open and the sight that greeted her made her scream. If not for the hand that covered her mouth suddenly, the whole school could have heard her strangled yells.

"Keep quiet, will you?" one of the twins whispered in her ear.

How could they expect her to stay silent? When she woke up, she wasn't alone in bed anymore. Hikaru was laying behind her, holding her down and Kaoru was the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes. Now what would that make you think?

"Perverts!" Kaede was shouting beneath Hikaru's large hand.

"We haven't done anything to you!" Kaoru was saying in an attempt to calm the girl down.

"I thought you were sick, stop struggling." Hikaru complained, annoyed.

"Ican'tbreathe!"

By some miracle, Hikaru heard her pleas and let her go. Kaede breathed in deep, glaring at the twin in front of her. After that episode, she felt worse. Couldn't they spare a sick person? Weren't they bored of her yet? She was tired of being their new toy.

"What are you doing in bed with me?" Kaede asked and though from a third person's point of view, that statement implied something perverse, she was merely stating a fact.

"Well, we were watching you sleep." Kaoru began, supporting his head with his hand.

"And it got so boring and we felt sleepy too." Hikaru finished from behind.

"What the-?"

"Actually, it was interesting the first hour." Hikaru admitted, a smug smile on his face.

"What do you mean?" Kaede sat up suddenly and turned to the older twin.

"You were sleep-talking." Kaoru answered.

"I do not talk when I sleep!" she denied, looking appalled.

"How would you know?" Hikaru and Kaoru questioned rhetorically.

"What was I saying then?" Kaede demanded still in complete disbelief.

Something about the smirks on the twins' faces made Kaede reconsider trying to find out what she'd said. If she did say anything at all, that is. She found it hard to believe these devilish twins.

"If I remember correctly, wasn't she calling out our names, Kaoru?" the older twin stated, stifling a laugh.

"Why, yes. We were about to leave for class but then you said, 'Don't go,' How were we supposed to leave, then?" Kaoru added; the story was becoming so unbelievable.

Kaede, despite swearing to herself many times before never to buy any story from these guys, seemed to be horrorstruck. Perhaps it was her high fever that blocked her common sense. She was believing every word.

"I said that? No way. . . ." her words didn't sound convicted and the twins were thrilled!

"Oh yeah. Hikaru was so jealous when you called my name suddenly. We thought you were awake." Kaoru told her, winking slyly at his brother.

"Ah, but didn't you hear her saying she loved me? You pretty much admitted you sent that confession letter, Kaede-chan." Hikaru wasn't going to let his brother have all the fun.

"Hmm. I'm afraid I didn't catch that. I swear she said she fell for me." Kaoru retorted.

How did one question turn the twins against each other. Kaede was beginning to see sense and what the twins were saying were nonsense. Sure, she was dreaming about them but she knew it wasn't anything nice. She stared into space, letting the abominations argue amongst themselves. Pretty soon they would kiss and make-up. Kaede decided she didn't want to stay and see that.

"Where are you going?" the twins asked in unison.

"What I came to school for." she answered simply as she put her shoes back on.

She staggered a bit in her step and the twins were up and ready to catch her. She was alarmed at the reaction. Were these two sick too?

"I'm fine." she said to get them off her back.

They wouldn't believe that. They walked with her to the Art Room.

"So tell me again what I said in my sleep?" Kaede questioned; now that she thought of it, there was no way she could have said those things, especially not about the twins.

"You practically confessed to us," they said together.

"Don't deceive a sick person, please." Kaede replied, rolling her eyes.

Bad idea. She felt another fainting spell but fought against it. Two strong arms grabbed her before she could fall over again. She looked up at both of them and gave a thankful smile.

"Who's Takumi Shichiro?"

"Eh?"

Kaede wondered to herself how he knew that name. They shouldn't know who he was. He never went to Ouran.

"Takumi Shichiro. You said his name a lot in your sleep."

It sounded like the truth. The other twin did not even argue. It seemed that he was curious too.

"He's my childhood friend. Well, actually, he was my first love."

Kaede didn't know why that was important. She often dreamed of Shichiro, true. One of those times was today and it just so happened The Hitachiins were there to hear her call him. Why did they look so annoyed? Especially. . . .

Another dizzy spell decided to put her to sleep right then. She didn't need to worry about falling though, because the twins made sure she was safe. Her last thought before surrendering to unconsciousness was,

**_'When I wake up, will these annoying pair of bed bugs still be by side?'

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**SECOND A/N: **_If you got confused who said which lines in the last part, I have to leave it that way. Why? Because__ I'm not sure which twin to pair her up with. I'm putting it to a vote. Please tell me in your review or visit my profile to vote on the poll. :) Please and thank you! _

**Hikaru **or** Kaoru**?

You guys decide! :)

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	3. Close Call

**A/N: **_Phew! I finally finished this chapter, though I had to sleep at 4AM to get this done. So pardon if it has a lot of typos. . I have no beta but myself so I'll proofread it when I get more sleep. xp Well, I can't complain. . .at least I got it done! :) I'm running behind schedule. I hope everyone will enjoy my first post for the year 2010. :D Please read & review!  
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**DISCLAIMER: **_So Bisco Hatori is in no way related to me so I guess it speaks for itself that I do not own anything in this story but my OCs and plot._

**This has been proofread.  
**_Courtesy of PurpleSkye._

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**=(ALPHABETICALLY INSANE)=  
[C]lose [C]all**

**FULL SUMMARY:** _She thought she was able to hide it from him. But when the innocent piece of paper somehow comes into his twin's possession, she was willing to go through anything to get it back; even if it meant getting into a cat suit and sneaking into the Hitachiin Mansion. . . .well, maybe._

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_"Please, Ka-chan?" Airi begged and for the umpteenth time Kaede wanted to say 'no' but it was obvious to the two freshmen that it was only a matter of time before one concedes and the other gets her way.

Unfortunately for Shinju Kaede, Mayu Airi's power of persuasion was greater than her obstinacy. The brunette began to wonder if her ebony-haired friend was somehow related to the twins. Sometimes Airi could be such a spoiled brat and oftentimes Kaede figured her friend was doing it on purpose just to pester her. Hitachiin blood must be running through her veins, somehow; she must remember to ask Aunty about that the next time she visits the Mayu Estate.

"What do you need my poems for, anyway? Another _anonymous_ confession?" Kaede couldn't help but ask, her tone teasing.

"Oh come on! I'll return it tomorrow, I promise! Please?"

Kaede sighed heavily and released her hold on the little pink notebook. She had a really bad feeling about lending this to her friend but did she even have a choice? Airi would never take 'no' for an answer.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Airi squealed exuberantly, choking the younger girl in her tight embrace.

"You're welcome, Ai-chan. . . .But ah, I can't breathe!" Kaede replied, indeed sounding short of breath.

"I'm sorry Ka-chan!" Airi yelled, letting go immediately and laughing sheepishly.

**.o:O:o.**

The next morning, Shinju Kaede once again found herself as the center of attention of the two infuriating little devils, who weren't really so small by Kaede's standards (they were at least half a feet taller than her, actually). It seemed as if whatever it was that "_attracted_" them to her hadn't disappeared through the weekend. And honestly, she couldn't consider herself lucky. What had she done to deserve this, she constantly asked herself as the twins persisted on poking her ribs. She guessed they found it doubly amusing that despite her anger towards their antics, she couldn't control her laughter. Who could blame the girl for being so ticklish?

"Stop! Please!" she pleaded but she had already known she would only be ignored.

She didn't even know why she bothered to try. Perhaps she was hoping that they would somehow realize that they'd done enough annoying things and would then decide to leave her alone. But the day has only just begun; it was way too early to quit being pests.

"Good morning, Ka-chan." the sound of Airi's greeting didn't sound as if the morning was good at all. "Here's your notebook," she added when Kaede only stared at her in question.

Kaede wanted to ask what was wrong but when she realized the position she was in. . . .well, let's just say it needn't be said. Hikaru and Kaoru were on either side of her and were sitting a little too close for comfort. Not that she had initially wanted to be in the middle of all the brotherly love, it was more like she didn't have a say in the matter. The two boys ambushed her the moment they arrived as if they spent their weekend planning on how to make her life a living hell. She wouldn't put it past them to do just that.

And now her best friend was jealous. They had opened it up before. Airi had asked if Kaede liked Hikaru and the latter answered with a quick 'no'. When Airi fired a retort such as, "Then why do you seem to be so close to _him_?" It was as if she didn't understand that Kaede hadn't chosen to get attention from the two abominations. If she had her way, the twins would be a thousand (and more) feet away from her. But alas, life is unfair. Especially to the Shinju heiress because the twins themselves had wanted to invade her personal space.

_'Sorry,' _Kaede mouthed to her friend sincerely while shooting her a look that plainly said, _'they wouldn't go away.'_

"What's this?" one of the twins - probably Hikaru, Kaede thought (she was getting better at telling them apart) - asked curiously.

"You can't!" Kaede yelled, slamming her hand on top of the notebook, where Hikaru's hand was already in place about to turn the cover.

If anything, her plea only increased the older twin's curiosity. She gulped. She couldn't let him, out of all people, read her poems. If the original copy of the confession letter poem wasn't still in this particular notebook, she wouldn't have minded. But if he saw it, he would torture her to no end! By all means, she swore she would keep that secret, well, a _secret_ from the twins.

"Please?" he asked, using the full power of his hazel eyes to convince the green-eyed girl.

"Can't." she mumbled with difficulty; she must admit she was a sucker puppy dog faces and if it wasn't Hitachiin Hikaru, she would openly admit that he was just too cute for his own good.

"Why not?" Kaoru decided to play along, not wanting his older brother to have all the fun without him.

"Because class is about to start!" Kaede retorted randomly and just her luck, their first period teacher came in and asked the class to settle down.

The Hitachiin twins returned to their proper seats looking somewhat dejected. But Kaede knew better. They were already plotting and planning how they could get the notebook from her. She had just initiated the _'Find Out What Shinju Kaede is Hiding' _Game. _Oh boy._ This was going to be one hell of a day.

**.o:O:o.**

"Couldn't you just tear off the page?" Airi suggested; although, by the tone of her voice, she was obviously still angry with Kaede for "_stealing_" her beloved Hikaru.

"You're a genius, Ai-chan!" Kaede exclaimed, relieved that her friend was still helping her even if she did do it with evident redundancy.

She was just so relieved to have resolved the problem at hand. Hikaru and Kaoru had both been trying to take her notebook from her every chance they got since first period. So far, all of their attempts had been epic failures but then again, the twins did not know when to quit. She doubted they'd get tired of this game any time soon.

One time they actually came close to getting it. It was a huge relief that Fujioka Haruhi was near enough to hear Kaede's protests and the cute boy had actually come to her rescue. Now, it was lunch and Airi had dragged her into the girl's bathroom before the twins could even get the chance to go near her. And that's where Kaede flipped the pages of her pink notebook and tore the one with the dangerous content.

Kaede sighed in relief. She hadn't liked the idea of staying in the restroom for long (even if Ouran's lavatories were extraordinarily lavish). People might misunderstand her _situation._

"You won't be causing me anymore trouble. . ." Kaede muttered as she folded the torn page and stuck it in the pages of her English notebook, which she just happened to have brought along with her.

"All right, can we get out of her now?" Airi questioned impatiently.

"Yeah, sorry." Kaede stated; he didn't like it when Airi was being a sour puss. She resolved that she would make up with her before the day is through, though. She would have to deal with those pesky twins first.

And just as the two girls opened the door, the Hitachiins had jumped out from behind the door to surprise them. Of course, it hadn't worked because Kaede had expected this ambush. She was one step ahead of them. And so with a smooth smile, Kaede handed the pink notebook over to them. Hikaru took it with wide eyes, perhaps wondering what the hell was going on. They were probably quite disappointed that the game was over too.

"That's it?" Hikaru inquired, still in disbelief.

"Well, yeah. You wanted to read it so badly. . .so now I'm allowing you to do so." Kaede replied confidently; for the first time she understood why the twins enjoyed annoying people. Watching their reactions was pretty amusing, Kaede had to admit.

Hikaru didn't seem interested at all with her poems and passed it to Kaoru, who seemed to appreciate literature more. Kaede just smiled and opted to excuse herself and her companion. Perhaps they could still have a quick lunch.

**.o:O:o.**

The rest of the day went on more smoothly than Kaede could have hoped for. She had bored the twins at last but if it was for good or not, she wasn't certain. The twins could be very unpredictable. They were quiet for now but Kaoru made such a fuss when he'd noticed a missing page. The two then began to bug her about it, asking her where it was and what was in it. Since Kaede did not want another round of their game, she had convinced them that it had been gone long ago and probably didn't exist anymore. This bored them to no end so they left her alone (to Airi's delight). And of course, Kaede was thankful as well. Though, she wasn't so used to the peace and quiet anymore. Could it be? Did she actually miss the twins?

**Nah!** It couldn't be.

She almost laughed out loud at the thought. How could she possibly miss the guys who tick her off to no end on a constant basis? The answer was pretty simple: She didn't. And she may be free at the moment but she was guessing tomorrow would be another day of torture. _Oh great_.

"Hey, Kaede-chan," the sound of a familiar voice calling her name pulled her out of her musings.

_'Speak of the devil. . .' _she thought, preparing herself for the worst. _'You can handle this, Kaede; there's only one of them now. . .' _she chanted mentally.

With a deep breath, she turned her attention to the hollering twin. _'Oh good. It's only Kaoru - the saner one.'_ Kaede said to herself, relieved. Then she asked herself, _'How did you know which was which?'_ But she didn't have an answer to that. She just knew. Though she still wouldn't let her guard down, if in case this was all part of the abominations' plans. They might still try and do something they thought would be funny. That wasn't a happy thought but as they say, "_expect the unexpected_". With the twins, the worst case scenarios are the most likely to occur.

"Would you mind if I borrowed your English notes?" he asked.

"Eh?" Kaede was surprised by such an innocent request coming from the Hitachiin.

"If you don't want to, that's okay. I left my notebook at home and I just wondered if you'd let me copy yours for tonight." Kaoru explained and whether Kaede would like to admit it or not, he was sincere.

"Ah, it's no problem!" Kaede had said as she hastily passed him her notebook.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

Kaede was in shock. She actually had a normal conversation with a twin. She turned around to look at him again. He was just stuffing her notebook in his bag. She had to ask.

"You are. . .Kaoru, right?"

The ginger-haired boy looked up in surprise. His mouth hung open, resembling a small 'o'. He nodded stiffly and just stared at her like she was some sort of alien. It wasn't everyday someone would be able to tell them apart. Hikaru would doubly be interested in this new toy now. He'd definitely be interested to see her playing the _'Which one is Hikaru'_ Game.

"I thought so. It's easier to tell when you're by yourself." she told him and then laughed. Indeed. If she could pull that off when Hikaru was here, Kaoru could believe that not all of _'them'_**[1]** were stupid. There were still people outside _'us'_**[1]** that were smart. Haruhi was one and now, could Kaede be the second?

**.o:O:o.**

Her own stupidity had never failed to astound her. How could she forget that the missing page was stuffed carelessly in her English notebook? How could she just hand it over to Hitachiin Kaoru? Stupid, indeed.

Airi had a plan. But it involved Kaede in a cat suit, preferably with the ears. Airi suggested sneaking in (hence the ludicrous costume) and stealing back her own notebook. However, there was a high probability that she would get caught. Kaede didn't seem keen on being seen (by the twins no less!) looking like cat woman. She would die of shame and they'd probably die laughing at her.

Airi took her protest the wrong way. She realized that if Hikaru saw Kaede looking sexy, he'd never give her a chance to go out with him. So the plans were changed. No more tight-fitting costumes and definitely the sneaking in part was out of the question. The new plan was simple. Go over their house (cough**mansion**cough) and pretend to ask about homework.

And so the two girls walked up to the front door of the Hitachiin Mansion and rang the doorbell. A young maid opened the large double doors and ushered them in warmly. The staff seemed to have been forewarned of their arrival. Everyone was being so polite. That was perhaps the purpose of being asked of their identity at the gates.

"Kaede-chan?" Hikaru sounded honestly surprised to see the familiar brunette and her black-haired best friend sitting in their living room. What in the world were they doing here? Hikaru couldn't help but wonder and knew that his twin was thinking the same thing.

"And Mayu-san too," Kaoru added, acknowledging the presence of the taller girl. He almost laughed out loud when he thought of how short Kaede was compared to the people in the room. How tall was she, five foot three or something, probably?

"We're sorry to intrude, Hikaru-kun, Kaoru-kun." Airi began, feigning embarrassment.

The twins merely shrugged their shoulders. They didn't seem to mind. And since they haven't asked about the letter it was safe to say they haven't discovered 'it' yet.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" Hikaru couldn't stop himself from asking out of pure curiosity.

"Well, we sort of need your help. It's a fashion emergency." Airi lied so smoothly; even Kaede was convinced.

The boys raised their brows simultaneously, encouraging her to elaborate. Kaede looked rather flushed. This wasn't part of the plan they agreed about. What about the '_homework_'? What was Airi thinking?

"Ka-chan has a date with her childhood friend tonight and she really wants to look her best. She was wondering if you two could help her get ready?" Airi explained; she was quite the capable actress and Kaede's embarrassment only seemed to add to the effect of the lie.

"You have a date with Takumi Shichiro?" Hikaru and Kaoru questioned in chorus.

Airi was alarmed that they knew his name and also stared at Kaede in shock. She thought Shichiro was supposed to be their little secret. How did the twins know? Kaede felt like their stares were boring holes through her but for the sake of their 'mission', she nodded stiffly.

The idea did not seem to sit well with the two abominations. Kaede could not help but ponder. 'Why would they be,' was the question she didn't have an answer to. In any case,the thought of being able to willingly play dress-up with their new toy was too tempting to pass up.

And all too quickly, the twins each grabbed one of Kaede's arms and began to drag her to her doom, or to their room rather. Airi followed close behind, jealous of Kaede again but thrilled to be able to go into Hikaru's room.

**.o:O:o.**

"Sit here, Mayu-san. You'll be judging Kaede-chan for this evening." Kaoru had said, all host-like.

Unaware that it was not the twin she preferred, Airi sat obediently with a goofy grin and a deep red blush on her face. This was heaven. Maybe she should ask for a make-over too? But then they'd think she was taken and that was the last thing she would want. She'd have to let Kaede have all the fun tonight.

She sighed dreamily as the younger twin disappeared through the door and Airi was left alone in their room. Without another thought she breathed in the scent of their bed. All the composure she had shown downstairs had gone and was replaced with her inner fan girl. This might just be a once in a lifetime chance, she would look for Kaede's notebook later. Kaede wasn't the only one who should be enjoying this opportunity.

**.o:O:o.**

After a dozen change of clothes, the twins finally decided on one. A plain purple dress accented with lots of flashy jewelry. They made a fuss about wearing heels too. They had said she needed all the help she could get and she had run around the room trying to hit them. Once she had calmed down a bit, Hikaru strapped her onto a parlor chair and began doing her hair while Kaoru did her make-up. She believed they had magic hands. They were actually making her look pretty and they were having so much fun doing it.

"Why don't you grow your hair long?" Hikaru whined as he tried to work his 'magic' on her short brown locks.

"It's such a pain whenever I'm drawing." Kaede answered; remembering the time in her life when her hair was long and how annoyed she was with it.

"I bet longer hair would look good on you." Hikaru whispered; though with the blow drier on, he doubted if she heard him.

A few minutes later a maid walked in and announced the arrival of Suou Tamaki and the rest of the Host Club. The twins rolled their eyes and asked Kaede to stay there while they handled their '_boss_'. She nodded but in her mind she was thinking about sneaking into their bedroom and taking her notebook. She had a bad feeling Airi was too _distracted_ to remember their true mission.

Once she figured the coast was clear, Kaede tiptoed out of the '_make-over room_' as she referred to it and crossed the hall to the twins' room. Airi was still there, rolling on the bed in a bliss. And sure enough when Kaede asked, she hadn't even looked for it yet.

"Okay. I'll do it. But you have to make sure the twins take their sweet time talking to the Host Club, all right? Distract them for as long as you can while I get the paper." Kaede revised their plan, speaking quickly to save time.

"How will I know if it's safe for them to go back up?" Airi queried, unsure of this new plan but eager to see the rest of the Host Club.

"Hmm. . .I'll go meet you downstairs, pretending I got bored waiting for you guys." Kaede stated, smiling at her own brilliant tactics.

"Oh you're good." Airi commented as she left for the door in haste.

Now, where should Kaede start? She circled the room in search for their bags. They dumped them on one of the comfy couches and she rummaged in them, but her notebook wasn't there. She panicked. Did that mean they already looked through it? She hurriedly ran to their study table and surely her notebook was under one of the books. She turned the pages wildly but found no loose piece of paper.

Where could it be? The minutes flew by and still she didn't have it. Where could it be? She was beyond panicking. She was about to faint. Every shuffle and bustle she heard made her jump. Another five minutes passed and she was sure one of the twins would be coming and she would be caught.

"What do I do?"

"About what?"

She hadn't heard the door opening and the voice caught her by surprise. It was one of the twins. She hadn't discovered who yet but she didn't want to turn and see. Her hands were shaking and she balled them to fists to steady them.

"You all right, Kaede-chan?" he asked and now she figured it was Hikaru by the mischievous edge to his tone.

Just the twin she'd wanted to see. . .**not**! She would have been safer if Kaoru came and found her like this.

"Fine!" she croaked, not very convincing at all.

The next thing she knew, he was right behind her. He didn't seem satisfied by Kaede's answer. He grabbed her shivering hands, eased them open and made her face him. Kaede felt her blood rush to her face. He was too close. She tried to put some distance between them but she was at a dead end.

Hikaru stared at her questioningly. Made up like she was tonight suited her very well, he had thought. He had noticed how cute she was before but it was different this time. She wasn't cute, she was gorgeous.

"Kaede-chan?"

"Yes?" Kaede mumbled, feeling very uncomfortable.

"About the letter," Hikaru began and Kaede bowed her head, preparing herself for whatever was going to happen next.

He knew already and maybe that was why they were so willing to give her a make-over. Perhaps they didn't even buy her date with Shichiro but decided to play along just for this moment.

"Would you tell me who sent it, Kaede-chan?" Hikaru leaned in to whisper that in her ear and she felt her face grow warmer as his breath tickled her ear.

She suppressed a giggle unsuccessfully and this only seemed to encourage Hikaru to make fun of her some more. He blew softly in her ear, fighting against her struggles so easily.

"I - I don't know!" Kaede answered immediately through gritted teeth.

"Ah, but that's a lie, isn't it, Kaede-chan?" Hikaru declared with a smirk. _D'mn it._ He could be terribly charming if he wanted to.

And like a miracle answered, Kaede saw the letter was on the bed all along. Why she hadn't noticed it before eluded her. She had to get it before he saw it too. There was still a chance that he didn't know. He hasn't accused her again yet. Call her insane but there was only one way to be able to finish this mission.

After taking in a deep breath, Kaede looked up to Hikaru with tearful eyes. She made lips quiver as she asked him, in the most seductive tone she could muster, "Are you calling me a liar, Hikaru?" She even dropped the honorifics to make it truly tantalizing.

"Ah - no, of course not! Kaede-chan isn't -"

It worked? It actually worked! Kaede was amazed with her new-found _'power'_.

"Then will you let go of me, Hikaru?" Kaede ordered in the same hypnotizing tone.

She asked and he obeyed. How interesting. . .

He began backing away slowly. She followed him, taking a step forward as he took one back. Their situations have been reversed. Kaede was thoroughly amused. She raised her right hand and placed it to Hikaru's chest. She gave a slight push and he fell on the bed. His hazel eyes widened in shock when Kaede climbed on top of him.

"Kaede-chan?"

"What's wrong, Hikaru?" it was her turn to blow in his ear.

"Ah, this isn't very comfortable. . ." his voice trailed off as Kaede continued to distract him with her senseless gibberish in his ear.

Kaede reached for something above his head and in one last breath she mumbled, "You're quite right," And she dropped the act and laughed aloud.

Hikaru looked flustered still, not quite understanding what just happened. Kaede rolled off of him in hysterics. She hadn't had that much fun in a long time. Indeed, she was beginning to see the enjoyment in annoying people, though Hikaru was probably more dumbfounded than irritated. The paper was in her hands and she just seduced Hikaru. Oh what fun!

Kaoru and Airi came in then and they too wanted to know why Kaede was laughing her ass off. Hikaru was beet red and refused to tell the story while Kaede couldn't even get a word out in between fits of laughter. And when Airi and Kaede decided to go, their excuse being Kaede still had a date with Shichiro, it seemed as if the twins wanted to stop her. Kaede shrugged it off as nothing but Airi had come to a conclusion. One (or both) of the twins liked Shinju Kaede. Has she lost to Kaede so quickly?

"If they knew they dressed me up for nothing, Hikaru would be furious!" Kaede had said suddenly as they sat comfortably in the limousine, on the way home.

"Yeah. But I'm still curious, what were you laughing about? Hikaru-kun seemed out of it after that." Airi asked.

"Oh that. It was nothing. But I got this back!" Kaede pulled the paper from out of her pocket, looking very happy.

"You were laughing like you've lost your sanity. It can't be nothing." Airi persisted; she realized her friend was merely changing the topic.

"Ah, but it was a really close call. . ." Kaede whispered as she stared out the window with a soft smile.

And it wasn't only the letter she meant. She was afraid she would've lost her first kiss that night. It had been a really _close call._

"I don't understand you anymore." Airi mumbled, annoyed.

"Neither do I. . ." Kaede muttered to herself, laughing once more at the memory of Hikaru's flushed face.

* * *

**A/N: **_I still want to know who you want her to be with, though. Even if I leaned to a bit of HikaruXKaede in this chapter. If you liked it this way, then tell me you vote for Hikaru but I'm going to try a little fluff with Kaoru in the next one (hopefully I can pull it off). :D So again. . . _

**Hikaru **or **Kaoru**?

**R**

**E**

**V**

**I**

**E**

**W**

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	4. Drivers, Devils & Dreams

**A/N: **_Forgive me for this late update! . I was sick, then we had our exams and now it's our Intramural. So, I may have become too busy. I truly apologize and hope this update will make you all happy. :D I think you'll kill me for ending it where I did though. xD But it wasn't my idea! I swear!_

**SPECIAL THANKS TO:**

**_Emberwillow14  
_**_My Awesome Beta :)  
Mastermind of the Evil End to this Chapter  
Thanks for proofreading my story! xD I really, truly, madly deeply appreciate it!_

**DISCLAIMER: **_Ouran and all its students are not in my possession. Even if I tried to buy it from the Suou Family. Apparently, it wasn't for sale. Kyouya was willing to negotiate, though. I am now paying him so I could "borrow" the Host Club. :) LOL. The OCs are mine though and the plot. The end to this chapter belongs to my Beta, who thought of it. xD_

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**=(ALPHABETICALLY INSANE)=**

** [D]rivers, [D]evils, and [D]reams**

**FULL SUMMARY: **_A hot driver, cute twin devils and a one-way ticket to the land of dreams. A dream inspires her to write a short fairytale. What happens when her story suddenly becomes a reality?_

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...Her eyes were pools of despair and hatred__,__ though she had remained obstinate. She'd rather die than to betray her kingdom. And by sheer luck, that was exactly what they would give her._

_Still__,__ her resolve never once faltered. She was certain that her prince would come to save her in time. That was how fairy-tales were supposed to be__,__ after all. Whether fairytales and reality could become one was a whole different story__;__ however, she hoped and prayed that he would come; come in his trusted steed and take her in his arms, safe from harm._

_The guards were rough, though. Didn't they know how to treat a princess? She highly doubted it. But of course, ever since she had been kidnapped, she wasn't ever treated as royalty anymore._

_Everyday has just been torture__,__ yet staying true to her word__;__ she spilled not the secret entrusted to her. He would come._

_He would come and hopefully soon._

"Can't that wait till after lunch, Ka-chan?" the dark-haired girl questioned, sounding awfully like a mother scolding her child.

"I'm afraid not, Ai-chan. Sorry! It's just, if I put the pen down for a minute, I'll lose it," the brunette responded as she continued to write in her elegant script the story that had visited her in her dreams just last night.

"Lose what? You haven't even eaten a bite." The other girl glared at the pen and paper as if it was at fault (and in Airi's point of view, they probably were the cause for her friend's strange behavior).

"My muse. It's been a while since I had some inspiration. Just this once, please, Ai-chan? Besides, it's my birthday, remember?" the emerald eyed girl used the full force of her puppy dog eyes on her best friend.

It seemed to have worked. Airi rolled her eyes though she left it at that. She hadn't seen Kaede this happy in a long time. She had thought Kaede would be permanently irritable the more she spent time with those twins. At least she now knew she wasn't. . .yet.

"Giving you that pen for your birthday was a bad idea," Airi mumbled, but did not complain further.

_...Just when she thought it was too late; just when the battle was surely lost and she had accepted her fate - her death – the voice of her savior broke through the darkness clouding her. He came. He came just in the nick of time to save her._

**.o:O:o.**

"Who gave you the right to kidnap me?" Kaede screamed as she was literally swept of her feet by none other than the ginger-haired twin devils.

"Hey, Kaoru, she doesn't remember what happened this morning," Hikaru stated, smirking that Cheshire smirk of his.

"Ah, why don't we enlighten her with a bit of a flashback, shall we?" Kaoru was quick to catch on to his brother's antics.

"Oh, yes we shall!"

"I'm doomed..."

**~FLASHBACK~**

_"Happy birthday, Kaede!" a large group of girls greeted the brunette just as she entered the classroom._

_Kaede gave her friends a warm smile and a 'thank you' and just like that they all began circling around her, showering her with more greetings and even a couple of presents._

_"Oh my, you guys shouldn't have!" she mumbled, blushing at being the center of attention._

_"Don't worry about it! You don't turn sixteen every day, Ka-chan!" Airi stated, putting her present on top of Kaede's growing pile._

_"But couldn't you wait for my party to give me all these? I sent the invites last week for this Saturday, right?" Kaede mused, still having a culture shock._

_"Yes, but Hana thought it'd be a lot more fun to give you gifts on the day of your birthday." Airi explained pointing to the girl beside her, sporting her platinum hair in a bob cut._

_"It's the commoner way of doing things!" she gushed and then sneaked a glance at Fujioka Haruhi, the male scholarship student that was also in the Host Club._

_Kaede had always found it weird that such an admirable student would join that club. But then again, Ootori Kyouya, who was top of his own class, co-founded it with the son of the superintendent, Suou Tamaki__,__ so it shouldn't have been a surprise. Even the twins, who she knew since middle school, were members of it; she thought they were the last two people who'd agree to actually join a club since they had always seemed to prefer just themselves and no one else. Well, the Host Club was indeed a strange bunch but she guessed that was what made it so fun (for the hosts and for their loyal customers as well). She couldn't say for sure herself because she had only been there once and that was to pick Airi up so they could start their tutoring sessions._

_As Hana continued to explain to the others the wonders of the commoners' way, Kaede couldn't help but notice Haruhi sigh. It must be hard to be a commoner in a school as extravagant as theirs. Even Kaede found it difficult sometimes and she had always been in the life of luxury. _Poor Fujioka-kun_, Kaede thought as she directed a comforting smile to the boy._

_"Happy birthday, Shinju-san__,__" he had said politely__,__ and Kaede thought she just discovered Fujioka Haruhi's secret._

_"Uhm. . .thanks, Fujioka-kun__,__" she replied, emphasizing the 'kun' with a wink. She seemed startled but Kaede's gentle laugh reassured her that she could keep the secret a secret. "Just call me, Kaede__,__" she added with an even brighter smile._

_"Ah, then just Haruhi, please, Kaede-chan__,__" the cross-dressing scholar replied__.__ After that exchange, Kaede was once again immersed in fan girl-ish chatter._

_"Haruhi-kun greeted you a happy birthday? Oh, you're so lucky, Kaede-chan!" Hana practically screamed in her ear._

_"I'm sure he would have greeted you on your birthday too. You just made such a big fuss about mine, he felt obliged to greet me__.__" Kaede said to ease her friend's jealousy. She was not interested in the same sex, thank you very much._

_And just as Kaede thought she was finally free from the girls and their excitement about her birthday, _they_ arrived. She wished they wouldn't find out but the presents still stacked on her desk were dead giveaways. Drats._

_"Uhm. . .it's not what you think?" Kaede muttered lamely as they came in front of her._

_"I told you it isn't Valentine's yet." They whispered amongst themselves__,__ though their voices were loud enough for Kaede to hear._

_'Idiots!' she wanted to yell but just the thought was enough to satisfy her for now._

_"You didn't tell us it was your birthday today__,__" Hikaru whined as if it was a standard operating procedure to tell them these things._

_"You never asked__,__" Kaede replied__,__ coolly with a shrug of her shoulders (for how long she could keep this facade up was another question)._

_"We didn't get you anything__,__" Kaoru mumbled with a frown._

_"I thought it was this Saturday?" Hikaru stated, uncertain._

_"It's all right. My party is this Saturday__,__" she answered calmly again, hoping against hope that they would spare her on her special day._

_"At least let us make it up to you for not knowing," they said in unison._

_"You don't have to__,__" Kaede retorted, effectively ruling out any plans they may have already had about "making it up to her"._

_"But we insist," Hikaru was terribly persistent._

_"And we swear you won't regret it__,__" Kaoru continued in a very, very convincing tone._

_They were cheating and they were also deadly charismatic, which was bad only for Kaede. To an outsider it might have seemed fun to be constantly teased by these two adorable creatures but Shinju Kaede saw beneath their charming features and saw their devilishness within._

_Just as she was about to say 'no' again, somebody threw a piece of crumpled paper at her. She turned to see who it came from and found an innocent-looking Airi whistling a soft tune though her attention was elsewhere. When she caught her eye, she merely stuck her tongue out at her friend who just ignored her and pretended to see nothing. It only frustrated her to no end. It was as if the twins weren't enough of an annoyance. Must Airi be one too? What did she throw at Kaede, anyway?_

_She ironed out the ball of paper and read the content._

_'Say yes!' it said._

_"See, even Mayu-san thinks it's a good idea!" Kaoru secretly read the paper too._

_But Kaede was at a loss. She hadn't expected Airi to agree to this. She was usually against anything that left her alone with the twins (especially Hikaru). Was something wrong? She turned to Airi again but she was busy talking to Hana._

_"Please, Kaede-chan?"_

_She turned back to the twins. She was suddenly not in the mood to argue anymore._

_"Do whatever you want."_

**~END FLASHBACK~**

So when she got to talk to Airi and found out that she'd confessed on her own (and was kindly rejected. . .well, kind for the twins' standards), Kaede was reminded of her dream and had been writing in every spare time she had ever since. And because she had, technically, said they could do whatever they want, she now found herself being dragged around like a rag doll.

"Oh please, I was kidding! What I meant to say was, 'do whatever you want but leave me out of it'!" Kaede exclaimed, trying to salvage the situation she had put herself in.

"Sure you did," Hikaru and Kaoru muttered, pretending to listen even if they didn't.

"Come on, you two. Can't you leave me in peace for my birthday, instead?" she suggested.

"Nah, that wouldn't be any fun, right, Kaoru?" Hikaru retorted.

"No fun at all, Hikaru," Kaoru followed as they both continued to take her to their limousine for Kaede's surprise birthday escapades.

"You two are hopeless!" Kaede shouted in frustration.

"But won't an afternoon at the beach with the Host Club be a lot of fun?" the twins inquired in unison.

"Not one bit!" was Kaede's immediate answer.

And yet why was she still being dragged unwillingly by these two little devils? When did they ever heed her words, anyway? Not once; not even on her birthday.

"Kaede?" the voice that called her name was strangely familiar and yet somehow different from how she remembered it.

The call had stopped the twins in their tracks too. They were wondering who, besides Kaede, was yelling, while Kaede could only stare with wide eyes at the sight that greeted her. His messy black hair and those blue, blue eyes of his were hard to forget. It was him all right. But what was he doing in her limousine? As her driver no less.

"Shichiro-kun?" Kaede managed to mumble in her startled state.

He laughed; a deep resonating laugh that tickled Kaede's deepest memories. He sounded relieved when he said, "You remembered."

"Of course, idiot!" she told him and immediately rushed to his embrace.

The two devils were speechless. This was what they were competing against for Kaede's attention. He looked like Kyouya, only with bright eyes like Tamaki, and had Mori's build. If they had been girls, surely they would have gone all "moe" for this guy. They didn't like this. It wasn't fun at all.

"She's happy," Kaoru whispered.

"I'm not," Hikaru said in a crabby tone.

Kaoru didn't seem happy at all either. They watched as Shichiro easily spun Kaede's small frame around and Kaede's laughter echoed in their ears. It was a lovely melody and it was what they'd expected to hear, but the scene unfolding before their eyes was different from their fantasies. They were supposed to be the ones making her happy.

"Kaede-chan," Hikaru scoffed, purposely interrupting the long-awaited reunion between 'childhood friends'.

"Ah, right," Kaede remembered, too far into her bliss to even be rude to Hikaru.

"Who are these two?" Shichiro asked, honestly curious.

"These are my classmates, Hitachiin Hikaru," Kaede introduced, first pointing to the one on her right then to the one on her left she added, "and this is Hitachiin Kaoru."

"Identical twins," Shichiro commented with a slight bow.

"Nearly," Kaede said confidently.

"Kaede-chan can tell us apart," Kaoru explained before Shichiro could even ask.

"Ah. She always had an eye for that kind of thing," Shichiro stated, which earned questioning gazes from the twins.

"I'm just lucky I guess. You and Shirachi might look a lot alike but she's still a girl," Kaede answered the unvoiced queries.

"He has a twin?" Hikaru asked, surprise evident in his face and in his tone.

"Yes. Where is she, anyway?"

"Oh, she couldn't come. She sings with mom now so she's just as busy. They both send their love, though, and of course, happy birthday!" Shichiro answered with a friendly smile.

"Is that the reason you're here?" Kaede was unable to resist asking.

It seemed as if the twins wanted the answer to that too. All three of them stared at the older boy with curiosity.

"Well, there's you, obviously," he answered, winking playfully at Kaede (to the twins' disgust). "Then there's the 'Get Mom and Dad Together Forever Again' plan me and Shirachi are cooking up. (Don't ask about the name though, Shirachi thought of it!)" he added, grinning cheekily.

Kaede recalled how Takumi Jiro - her family's personal driver since before she could remember - and his wife - Yuuna Mizuki, a very popular singer now - hadn't been on good terms since way back seven years ago. That was precisely why Shichiro and Shirachi (Kaede's childhood friends) had to move away to the United States, where their mother searched for her fame. And now that her dreams had come true, all that's left was to fix what's left of her marriage with the humble Shinju family chauffeur; at least that's what Shichiro was hoping for.

"Oh, are you having any luck with that?" Kaede curiously asked.

"Well, mom's willing to talk to him but that's as far as we've convinced her and I'm here for a rain check on dad. If he's more than willing to patch things up, that'll be great," Shichiro explained, looking excited at the thought of reuniting his broken family.

"I'll be happy to help, so just tell me if you need anything, okay?" Kaede offered with a warm smile.

Now, if only it was directed at the Hitachiins instead of the childhood friend, maybe then Hikaru wouldn't be so. . .hotheaded. Kaoru noticed this so he put a hand on his brother's shoulder, squeezing it slightly. It was a warning. Hikaru really didn't want to blow up all over Kaede. He didn't know that now, but he would regret it later - Kaoru was sure.

"Thanks, Kaede. You're the best," Shichiro replied, sincerely grateful.

"Can we go now?" Hikaru suddenly interjected, quite rudely, in fact.

"Oh were you going somewhere?" Shichiro was honestly surprised at his outburst but remained polite nonetheless.

"Ah, actually-"

"Actually, we were just leaving until you came," Hikaru continued and Kaoru really wanted to hit the older twin in the head to knock some sense into him. He was showing Kaede the "jealous" side of him; Kaoru thought he learned to get over that.

"I'm sorry, but you're not coming home yet, Kaede?"

"Uhm-" Kaede looked at the twins warily. This was her one chance of escape but Hikaru was really angry right now. Should she risk it?

"She's supposed to come with us to the beach," Kaoru answered coolly, not trusting Hikaru to answer nicely.

"So what do I tell Kaori-san?" Shichiro questioned; it was good that the gentler twin had answered because another one of Hikaru's rude retorts would have snapped the last thread of Shichiro's patience.

"Mom is home?" Kaede muttered, surprised to say the least.

"Didn't you know? She came home this morning. You probably already left for school, then," Shichiro stated, still waiting for one false move from Hikaru so that he could give him a piece of his mind.

"Tell her I'm staying over at Airi's place tonight, please," Kaede said. Though she tried to cover it up, it was obvious that she didn't get along well with her mother at the moment.

"If you say so, but you should talk to her. She misses you a lot," Shichiro told her before getting back in the car and starting the engine.

"I will," she agreed, albeit begrudgingly. "When I'm ready..." she added as an afterthought just as Shichiro drove away.

"I'm glad he's finally gone."

"Hikaru!" Kaede scolded; she didn't like the way he acted towards her childhood friend at all. What was his problem?

"He's my problem." She hadn't realized she said it out loud till Hikaru answered her supposedly mental remark.

"What did Shichiro ever do to you?" Hikaru was about to make a good comeback but Kaoru beat him to it.

"He's just agitated because Milord will probably call in a few seconds wondering where we are and that's just troublesome, I tell you." Though it wasn't exactly the real reason for Hikaru's bad behavior, it wasn't a lie either. Tamaki could be a handful sometimes and he was supposed to be their senior.

True enough, Hikaru's cell phone began to ring just as they entered their limousine. Hiakru answered the call and immediately handed it over to Kaede. His look plainly said, 'You got us into this mess, you get us out.' Kaoru sighed and Kaede frowned but took the mobile phone anyway. He can't be that bad, right?

Wrong. Just as she was about to say, 'Hello', Tamaki was already saying a thousand words a second, reprimanding the twins for this and that. To say Kaede was speechless would be an understatement. Feeling sorry for the unfortunate girl, Kaoru grabbed her hand that held the phone and told Tamaki through the receiver, "You're traumatizing her, Milord."

"Pardon me? Mommy, they're confusing me! What are you saying?" Tamaki screamed while Kaoru encouraged Kaede to speak; mouthing the words, "He's human, don't worry," to her to lighten her up.

Kaede couldn't help but giggle at that and the sound of her melodious (in Tamaki's words, of course) laughter was enough to make him realize that he wasn't talking to the little devils but to one of his princesses.

"Ah, my damsel in distress, what have the evil twins done to you?" Tamaki cooed, sounding like a true prince.

"No, it's my fault. I held them up a bit. Please, excuse them for being tardy," Kaede answered, a little more relaxed now that Kaoru had made her laugh.

"It's no trouble at all, princess! Do not fret. The twins may be devils but they are gentlemen nevertheless," Tamaki replied buoyantly; his personality seemed to take a one-hundred eighty degree turn.

Kaoru grabbed her hand again and this time, she realized the gesture and hoped he didn't see her blush slightly. It seemed as if he was preoccupied with Tamaki though. Thank goodness.

"Stop flirting with our new toy, Milord. You'll contaminate her innocent mind with your perverse thoughts," Kaoru stated, knowing it would peeve the older boy to no end.

When he began speaking hastily again, Kaoru decided that they'd had enough of his nonsense and hung up. Kaede was in hysterics again even as she reprimanded Kaoru about hanging up on someone on the phone being pretty rude. All the while, Hikaru only watched their exchange. He was probably still grumpy about bumping into Takumi Shichiro. He just couldn't get over the fact that Kaede could be so intimate with boys other than his twin and himself. She already had them, she didn't need anyone else.

**.o:O:o.**

"Well, I didn't want to throw it away so I want you to keep it for me," Kaede explained as she paced around Airi's bedroom.

The rather flustered brunette went straight to the Mayu residence the moment she was free from those abominable creatures. She had a long day. And it wasn't only because she was with the annoying twins. She had a dream and she had been inspired by that crazy dream of hers. She actually wrote a short story about it. It was still unfinished but at the moment, finishing it was the last on her list. She didn't understand how or why but she actually relived her dream today. Of course, the characters were different. She never expected to be the princess. It was surreal. And she only had the pen and notebook that Airi had given her as a birthday present to blame.

"So let me get this straight: You're giving these back to me because everything you wrote in the journal happened today?" Airi reiterated; her brows furrowed in disbelief.

"Exactly!"

She looked at Kaede as if she were insane. Perhaps she really was. She didn't think anything was impossible now.

"What did you write anyway?" Airi asked, frustrated by her best friend's silliness. She reached for the notebook and read the contents carefully.

After a few seconds, Airi sighed. She put the notebook down gently and turned to Kaede with a sweet smile. Kaede could only stare back questioningly, wondering how on earth she managed to finish reading in such a short time. In the next moment, she had known that Airi just didn't feel up to reading the more or less fifteen pages that she had been able to create in such a short time.

"Can't you just tell me what happens?" Airi asked, hopeful.

"Well, I didn't want it to be a typical romance so when _prince charming_ magically arrives and comes to the rescue, I didn't make the _princess_ elope with him," Kaede began, trying her best to tell the story she wrote without being too descriptive.

"So, what happened?" Airi pushed, curious despite her earlier show of disinterest.

"She went with the _guards,_ instead," Kaede answered with a mischievous grin. "But, of course, the _evil queen_ came running after her. And so there was this wild goose chase around the kingdom! Surprisingly, the _guards_ protected her and she forgot all about the _prince_ for a moment. She could be falling in love with one of her _guards_ and –"

"Wait a second. You sound like you aren't sure of the last part. She _could _be falling in love? Didn't you already write that part?" Airi interrupted, noticing the uncertainty with which Kaede was telling her story.

"Well, yes, but I wasn't actually too sure about it so I haven't really finalized it," Kaede explained, a streak of red flashing to her cheeks.

"And these things in your story happened to you how?" Airi inquired, one brow raised in question.

"It's something close to that, actually," Kaede admitted, scared to continue.

"Weren't you with the twins this afternoon; so which one of them is the _prince_?" Airi interjected, wanting to get straight to the point.

"Shichiro came to pick me up after school," Kaede shared immediately after Airi's statement. She never thought of the twins as her prince. No way.

"If _Shichiro's_ your _prince_, then who're the twins supposed to be?" Airi queried, though she seemed to be able to piece together the story in her head. "The _princess_ went with her _guards_, which would be Hikaru and Kaoru, correct?" she deduced quickly.

A rush of red – evidences of a blush - spread across Kaede's cheeks as she nodded her head. Airi was smiling slyly. Sure it hurt that Kaede had indeed spent an afternoon with the guy she'd loved. Even though she was rejected, she couldn't get over him that easily, could she? Kaede was lucky (though she would say she wasn't) that the twins pay attention to her. They had become more open but it was still obvious to the world that there was a barrier between the twins and everyone else. Kaede survived crossing over to their side quite easily. If she were to find her happiness with one of those two, perhaps Airi could just suck in the pain and be happy. Kaede was her best friend after all.

"So what exactly happened during the _'wild goose chase'_?"

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**A/N: **_Where's the rest of the story, you ask? I haven't written it yet. I sent this part of the chapter to my beta because I wanted her opinion/ideas but she said this was a pretty good place to stop it. xD The continuation of this story shall come in **Chapter F** (which I shall conveniently call, _**Flashback**_). And yes, I know my alphabet, thank you very much! _**_Chapter E_**_ will not be starting where this left off. _:P _I am evil, I know that too. xD You have to wait a little bit more to know what happened during Kaede's birthday escapades with Hikaru and Kaoru._

**ON THE POLL: **_So far, Hikaru is winning with 4 votes to Kaoru's 3 votes (and that's just for the poll on my profile).  
I'd like to inform everyone that voting will be open till the _**14th of February (Valentine's Day)**_.  
Therefore, take your pick:_

_**Hikaru **or **Kaoru**?_

**R  
**

**E**

**V**

**I**

**E**

**W**

**l  
V  
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	5. Encore

**A/N: **_I know I haven't updated this in a while and you all probably hate me for making you wait so long but here's Chapter E now! Hopefully, after this, my updating habits would be more frequent. :D I have a lot of time but not a lot of inspiration sometimes so I apologize. :) So, I won't delay the story any longer, it's just a special thanks and the disclaimer after this. :D_

**SPECIAL THANKS TO:  
EmberWillow14  
My Ever-Efficient Beta  
For proofreading this chapter and noting my many typos.  
I also apologize for my pure stupidity. LOL.  
_hanged_ is NOT the past tense for **_hang_**. :))  
Sound Effects courtesy of my Beta.**

**DISCLAIMER: **_If the twins were mine, I wouldn't be writing this stuff to lure them so I can kidnap them and have them to myself forever. Oops. I just spilled out my diabolical plan. Uh - please just move on to Chapter E. Thank you. :D_

_

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_  
**=Alphabetically Insane=  
[E]ncore**

**FULL SUMMARY:** _Last minute changes had to be made when an unsuspecting visitor comes to the Shinju manor. Old favors would be relinquished and Hikaru would have the bittersweet taste of déjà vu._

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"It's too safe," Airi commented as Kaede modeled the dress she was to wear the following night.

Kaede heaved a frustrated sigh and muttered, "What's wrong with it?" The two friends had raided the Shinju heiress' vast wardrobe since they'd gotten home for school and yet there was no satisfying the ebony-haired teen. Kaede was honestly getting tired after trying on the seventeenth dress. Not one of them passed Airi's standards - even the one Kaede had designed for herself just for the occasion. It was what she had on now and the past sixteen dresses were merely to amuse Airi as they had a mini fashion show inside her abnormally large bedroom.

"I'm not criticizing your design, Ka-chan. Actually, it's a very beautiful dress. But don't you think it's too simple for an event like your sixteenth birthday?" Airi explained and indeed she was telling the truth.

Kaede eyed herself in the mirror. The dress she designed was meant for parties but apparently not the right kind. Airi was thinking that this deep green halter dress would be perfect for an evening event because of the sophisticated aura it seemed to emit. It would not do for a teen's birthday party, regardless of its high standards.

"I don't have time to get a new dress made, Airi," Kaede stated as if challenging her in order to argue her logic.

"I know. Well, maybe we can have one rushed but still, the perfect dress can't be made overnight. . . ." Airi muttered as she paced around the carpeted floor, in deep thought.

"Did I hear something about needing to rush a dress?"

Kaede's head snapped up at the sound of a newcomer's voice. Airi was staring at the doorway with wide eyes as well. See, it wasn't everyday that an international superstar came for a visit unannounced. If she was your aunt, it shouldn't have been a total surprise, though. And so Kaede had quickly gotten over her initial shock and rushed to her mother's sister's arms.

"What are you doing here?" Kaede demanded, tightening her hold on her aunt.

"Is it a crime to come home once in a while to attend my favorite niece's sweet sixteen? Don't tell me I'm not invited?" the woman in her early thirties retorted, her tone heavily accented even if she did speak fluently.

"Of course, you are! It's just a pleasant surprise that's all. I thought you were busy."

"I told them I needed a little break," Hotaka Ami stated with a playful wink. Airi, though used to seeing famous people up close, was still mesmerized by the star's dazzling beauty.

"But how am I supposed to get a dress? It's almost 8 and the party's tomorrow evening...." Kaede stated, panicking slightly from all the pressure. "What's wrong with this dress, anyway?" she added, not quite understanding the reason to worry about the attire for her own party (_again_).

"Your friend's right, my dear. You need to dress-up a little bit more for your special night," the older woman retorted, causing a smug smirk to appear on Airi's face.

Kaori couldn't help but stick out her tongue. It was two against one, how could she possibly win?

"It'll be impossible to have a dress made now," Kaede whined.

"Oh, Yuzuha owes me a favor. She'll gladly lend us one of her designs," Ami had answered as she began to drag the two girls by the hand to her limousine parked outside.

"Yuzuha? Isn't that name familiar?" Kaede wondered aloud, deep in thought.

"Hitachiin Yuzuha - the great fashion designer? Must I tell you everything?" Airi said, rolling her eyes at her best friend.

Kaede was doomed. Her own aunt was taking her to hell: the very lair of those two little devils!

**.o:O:o.**

"We're on our way," Ami stated through the receiver having just had a very casual conversation with Hitachiin Yuzuha.

Honestly, even if her aunt had been in the States for a long time, she still had vast connections here in Japan. It was amazing. And even if she didn't want to pay the Hitachiin mansion a visit any more than being at the mercy of these two fashion critics, she couldn't deny that she was looking forward to showcasing a Hitachiin design on the night of her Sweet Sixteen. She had always admired the Hitachiins' taste (yes, even the twin devils' style was impeccable).

Hopefully, the twins would be in bed by the time they got there. As she sat quietly, trying to convince herself that, Airi watched her with a keen eye from her peripheral vision. Tonight, she could prove which of the twins her best friend had feelings for. She tried to prepare her heart for the pain of betrayal, but she doubted she'd ever be ready. Tonight was as good as any other.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Kaede muttered in a soft whisper as the limo eased its way onto the driveway and into the Hitachiin property.

"Don't worry your little head, my dear niece. Yuzuha is looking forward to seeing us," Ami reassured her, thinking that Kaede was just being shy.

"But Hikaru and Kaoru...." Kaede mumbled just barely loud enough for the other two to hear.

"Ah, those charming twins! I supposed they're about your age?" Ami exclaimed, feeling quite nostalgic. "I used to see those boys everyday during the early years of my career in Japan. Do you like one of them, my dear?" Ami added with a reminiscent smile and Airi, who was suddenly attentive, turned her head from the staring out the window to listen to Kaede's response.

"Of course not! They're little devils!" Kaede remarked though her face did turn red and Airi suppressed a bitter laugh.

She liked one of them all right.

"We've arrived, Ami-sama," the chauffeur suddenly declared as the car came to an easy stop.

"Finally,"

"Oh, this is just like playing dress-up! Sorry, Ka-chan, you're gonna be the doll." Airi commented as she followed Ami out the door.

"Oh boy, this is going to be a long night...." Kaede muttered as she reluctantly left the vehicle, grudgingly chasing after the two.

**.o:O:o.**

Hitachiin Yuzuha herself greeted them at the door and, standing right behind her with expectant, devilish smiles, were Hikaru and Kaoru.

"Yuzuha! It's been a while, hasn't it?" Ami stated, embracing the much taller woman (apparently, Kaede inherited her height from her mother's side of the family).

"It has. I hope you've been well," Yuzuha responded, a little more demurely than the Hollywood actress.

"I do apologize for coming here on such short notice, it's -"

But Yuzuha immediately interjected by saying, "It's no problem at all, I assure you, Ami."

"We already chose a bunch of dresses you could try on, Kaede-chan!" the twins uttered in chorus, obviously excited.

_'This is not good,'_ Kaede thought. Anything that made the little devils that enthusiastic couldn't be good for her. Although, when she came to get a make-over; they did make her pretty. Also, there was parental supervision this time around. They couldn't harm Kaede. . ._much_.

"Ah yes, my boys and I took the liberty to narrow down your choices, Kaede-chan. I hope you don't mind." Yuzuha affirmed the twin's words.

"It's no problem!" Kaede was surprised to be addressed so informally by Hitachiin Yuzuha.

"Follow me, then," Yuzuha instructed as she lead the way to her home's fashion studio.

The two young girls stared in awe at the vast collection the Hitachiins' had at their own mansion. Rows and rows of clothing hung in long racks lined across the room. From denim to silk to evening gowns and swimsuits - it was like a personal designer's label section of the mall right in the middle of their home. But Yuzuha entered another door at the other end of the room. The next room was empty and rather dimly lit. There was a T-ramp at one end and stage lights all over the place. Again, they didn't stop there. Another door was left ajar on the left side of the room and Kaede watched as Yuzuha disappeared through it.

There were at least four racks of gowns and cocktail dresses lined up in that room. Yuzuha and her twins had begun choosing the first thing she had to try on by the time Kaede and company arrived. Kaede's mouth formed a small '_o_' at the sight.

_'So this was narrowing it down?'_ Kaede thought to herself, trying her hardest not to face-palm.

"Do I really have to try all these on?" Kaede couldn't contain her query; she just had to ask! If she didn't, it would take all night to get through trying on all of those dresses.

"Does your party have a color scheme we can work with?" Hikaru inquired, looking serious as he tossed Kaede one short, satin dress.

Yuzuha took it from her arms and said, "Not that one, Hikaru. It's too casual."

Hikaru returned it to the rack and began to search once more.

"Green and pink." Kaede mumbled in response to Hikaru's earlier query.

"Perfect. Emerald would really compliment the color of your eyes," Kaoru stated as he picked up a very elegant, long, green gown.

"Ah, that one's a classic design." Yuzuha murmured her approval. "Go try it on, please." she pointed to the dressing room at the far end of the room behind the racks of clothing.

"Airi?" Kaede called, sounding like a five-year-old.

"Need help?" Airi chuckled; being with the twins couldn't put her in a bad mood.

Kaede merely nodded as she and her best friend went into the dressing room to change into the first dress.

"I'll sit here and be the judge," Ami said, taking her seat on one of the cushioned benches in the room.

A few minutes later, Airi gasped and the four people left outside the fitting room turned to the sound with anxiety.

"I don't think this is -" Kaede was mumbling but she was interrupted by Airi pushing her out the door.

"It suits her very well!" Airi exclaimed, referring to the modest neckline of the off-shouldered top and the slim fitting bodice of the emerald dress, which accented Kaede's petite figure very nicely.

"Although. . . ." Ami trailed off, pointing at Kaede's feet in disappointment.

Kaede had a handful of the skirt on both hands as the dress was much too long for her. Of course, the gown was tailored to fit a super model. Kaede had the perfect figure but didn't quite have the height.

Kaede glared at the twins snickering behind their mother at the sight of her. That was why she didn't want to come out. Standing beside Airi made her feel shorter all of a sudden.

"Hmmm... that is a problem," Yuzuha muttered, frowning a bit_. 'It really did suit her,'_

"Try this,"

And she heard that phrase for about a dozen more times before Airi let out another squeal. The others weren't as alarmed as before but were eager to see what had caused such a reaction from the dark-haired girl.

"Get out of there, Kaede-chan!" the twins ordered, impatient.

"Presenting: the Belle of the Ball. . . ." Airi had announced excitedly as she practically dragged the poor brunette out the dressing room.

Ami and Yuzuha's face brightened with proud smiles. The twins just looked at their toy with awe: mouths hanging open, eyes wide and deep red blushes on their cheeks. This was definitely the dress they were looking for.

**.o:O:o.**

"I can manage by myself, thanks Ai-chan," Kaede assured her best friend; she was still feeling embarrassed by the reactions they had all given to her in that dress. Yuzuha invited them all to tea and Kaede wanted an opportunity to compose herself.

Kaede entered the changing room one last time as the rest filed out towards the dining area. Once she was in, she had to scratch her eyes to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. These weren't the clothes she wore on her way here.

She could've sword she was wearing her favorite hood-y and a pair of denim capris earlier. These weren't hers to begin with.

She rushed out of the small-ish room and came face to face with a twin. His Cheshire smirk proved that he'd done something she didn't like. He was guilty and he was happy about it.

"Hikaru, where are my clothes?" Kaede demanded, holding onto her dress securely (because she already had Airi unzip it from behind).

The twin in front of her raised two arched brows in shock. How was she able to find that out? His identity, not the fact that they replaced her clothes with an ensemble they'd kill to see her wear.

"How did you-"

"Your face - it annoys me." Kaede explained shortly, glaring angrily at him.

"That doesn't make sense, you know," Hikaru replied, smirking at her faulty logic.

"It does to me. I wouldn't feel this agitated if you were Kaoru," Kaede explained and indeed, her way to tell them apart was rather strange.

"Doesn't that make me special?" Hikaru asked rhetorically, batting his lashes charmingly.

Kaede turned away, trying to hide the fact that she had blushed. Hikaru laughed and it only picked at her short temper. He had this effect on her. How cool was that power?

"Where are my clothes?" she repeated her earlier inquisition that was left unanswered by the older twin.

"Kaoru has them," Hikaru stated simply.

"You little devils!" Kaede screeched as the last string of her patience snapped.

"Just change into those. . . ." Hikaru suggested, grabbing her by the shoulders and pushing her gently into the changing room.

Kaede tried to stare him down with tearful eyes, just as she had before. She hadn't had the need to use her '_power_' in a while and she hoped it'd work. But he hadn't changed his mind and instead shut the curtains quickly to block her from view. He wouldn't be able to take another minute of _that_. The sight of her puppy dog eyes, her irresistibly cute face, and the fact that the only thing keeping her clothes on were the hands that wrapped around her torso which he could so easily. . . .

**STOP!**

He had to stop his thoughts from going _there_. He turned and went to the farthest side of the room, keeping a safe distance from _her_. His face was as red as a tomato and his hands were shaking wildly. Why did she have this effect on him, anyways? A memory flashed in his head and if he could, he blushed a deeper red. He almost let her seduce him again. She had that crazy power to turn his self-control into mush with one look. She was scary.

But he had to compose himself. She was merely their toy and seeing her annoyed face was still the best.

Or so he thought.

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**Emberwillow14: _*BOM BOM BOM BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*_**

**A/N: Thanks, Em. :) LOL. Anyway, all of you may have noticed I really am leaning more into HikaruXKaede with this one. Well, that's because he won. The poll, I mean. I didn't have the time to check votes from the reviews but if I recall my last count, Hikaru still had more votes. :)) But I couldn't follow the deadline. I checked the poll at February 14 but it was a tie. So I waited a bit till someone voted in favor of the other. The 11th voter said Hikaru so here he is being seduced again. xD But I did add a little Kaoru moment there with the fitting and all. :)) But I think that would be the last. :( Sorry. I can't have her two-timing Hikaru. :))**

**REVIEW PLEASE~!  
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	6. Flashback

**A/N: **_Phew. I swear, this chapter was done a long time ago but since I wanted it to be perfect, my awesome beta and I really worked hard on editing (my beta, especially). LOL. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this one. 'Cause this is probably my last update this summer and if my updates could get any slower, they might just do. I'm entering college for the first time in two days so yeah. ;) I am not quitting fanfiction(dot)net nor dropping any of my stories, though, rest assured. Moving on, I'd like to mention a couple of thanks and the disclaimer._

**SPECIAL THANKS TO:  
****EmberWillow14  
My Fantastic Beta  
For proofreading this chapter and introducing me to the punctuation know as the 'comma'.  
I also apologize that my character is as stupid as me. LOL.  
_One shouldn't admit their fears just before jumping to their doom._****  
Sound Effects courtesy of my Beta.**

**DISCLAIMER: **_Ouran = Bisco Hatori. Alphabetically Insane = PurpleSkye. You do the math. ;p_**  
**

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=Alphabetically Insane=**  
**[F]lashback**

**FULL SUMMARY:** _On her birthday, Kaede wrote a story that came to her in a dream. It was a tale that was left unfinished. And before she realized it, that dream was coming to life. Would she have that happily ever after like most fairytales?

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_

"Ne, won't you answer that, Kaede-chan?" Kaoru asked as he watched her stare at her ringing mobile phone but never actually answering the call.

"I don't know," she replied with a slight frown.

Kaede could recall the last time she spoke to her mother. It seemed ages ago but in reality it had only been about three weeks. It was rare for her mother – Shinju Kazue, a world class businesswoman – to be so involved with her upcoming birthday. Usually, she just hired some trained professional and was visible only on the day of the celebration itself. Kaede was surprised when her mother came home a week after the beginning of the preparations and even seemed so interested in the details of the event.

If asked at all, Kaede preferred not to have a star-studded soiree every time; a quaint little get-together would have sufficed. As long as those dear to her were there, she would have been happy. It was probably a _commoner's thought_, but she was never truly fond of the glitz and glamour of wealth.However, each year there was a big fuss about her getting another year older. Kaede had never complained about it before since it was her father's wish; he insisted that it was a very special occasion that needed to be celebrated with a big _bang_. He was hardly ever home because his work required him to travel all over the world on a constant basis, but never had he ever missed her birthday; or, at least, the actual party. If not for all of that, she wouldn't agree to such frivolous celebrations. Call her crazy, but she was only doing it for the sake of seeing her parents, which was a rarity in her case.

But this year, she just knew it was going to be horrible. Sure, she was happy to finally be sixteen. She felt all grown-up and everything but if that meant she had to choose a fiancé soon then she'd rather stay fifteen forever.

Apparently, her mother didn't quite like the way she said that and they had a heated argument over dinner. And since then, they wouldn't talk to each other even if the party was still on. For Kazue, it was only due to tradition for her to plan a social gathering this time of the year. Besides, it wasn't like she could pretend she didn't have a daughter when said daughter was very vocal in the world.

"Who's calling, anyway?" Hikaru demanded as he peeked over her shoulder to see who she didn't want to talk to; he sounded a little curious but still rather stingy from the encounter with his _rival_.

"My mom," Kaede answered obediently.

The twins could tell she was out of it. Hikaru was silently relieved that it was not Shichiro calling her but never would he admit that. At the moment, he worried for her. He wanted to ask what she was thinking about for her not to notice them staring so closely at her. Her mind was too preoccupied with thoughts unknown to them. She was considering the pros and cons of answering that call or not.

**THE PROS**

+ She could finally call off the "_fiancé hunt_"

+ She'd fail number one but perhaps they could agree on a compromise

+ Her mother might have forgotten all about the fiancé after all and they can both move on

**THE CONS:**

- Her mother didn't forget

- Her mother wants her home in that instant so they can discuss more about the issue

- Her mother has found a _suitable_ candidate

- Her mother found more than one candidate

- Her mother just skipped candidacy and chose for her

. . . .

The list of cons seemed endless. The chances of the pros ever happening were actually so narrow that she had barely listed them all off in her head when she decided that each was next to impossible. Knowing her mother, a compromise could have been plausible but she doubted she would get anything worthwhile. Kazue would do anything at all lengths just to get what she wanted. As a businesswoman, it produced brilliant results for her company. But as Kaede's mother, it was a whole other story. How could she allow her only daughter to be engaged at such an early age?

"_It's never too early to have an engagement!" _Kazue's voice resonated in Kaede's mind, clear as day. _"Some kids are engaged the day they are born! You're lucky I'm allowing you to choose at all!"_

"You're getting engaged?" the twins practically yelled and for a moment, Kaede wondered: _'__Can these two really read people's minds?__'_

"How did you –"

"_Kaede! Listen to me when I'm talking to you! Do you understand what I'm saying?"_ Kaede realized with a start that the twins had answered the call for her and she was actually speaking to her mother on the other line.

"I'll explain later," Kaede mumbled to the twins as she turned her attention back to her mother. "Mom, I –"

"_We really need to talk, honey, so can you come home?"_ Kazue's tone suddenly changed to softer and sweeter when she realized her daughter was not alone but Kaede was not fooled.

"For the last time, I don't want to look for a fiancé! It's pointless and –" Kaede began to retort, abruptly feeling aggravated.

"_Kaede, honey, it's not so bad! Look at your father and me! I didn't want to be his wife at first but if I hadn't married him, I wouldn't have had you!"_ Kazue interrupted, unwilling to take no' for an answer.

"I'll talk to you later, Mom. I – I have to think about it," Kaede declared and, before her mother could argue, she hung up.

"What was that about, Kaede-chan?" the twins asked in unison with equally curious faces.

"Why the hell did you take the call? I still haven't figured out what to tell her yet!" Kaede screamed and though she knew that taking her anger out on these two was wrong, she found that she couldn't stop herself.

"You would ignore a call from your mother?" Kaoru questioned as if in disbelief.

"I wouldn't want to but we aren't really in the friendliest of terms at the moment, Kaoru," Kaede mumbled, crossing her arms across her chest and letting out a sigh.

"But what was that about getting you a fiancé?" Hikaru inquired; for some unfathomable reason, he didn't like hearing Kaede and fiancé put together in one sentence.

"It means she plans on giving me away to the highest bidder," Kaede explained with a raised brow. What part of that was confusing? _'How idiotic can Hikaru be, honestly?'_ she thought exasperatedly.

"I knew that!" Hikaru argued indignantly, a bright red blush coloring his cheeks.

"I think he meant if you had any candidates yet?" Kaoru translated for his twin.

"Actually, I don't know. I don't even _want_ to know, to be honest," Kaede answered and again, her face looked distant.

And for once, the threesome was enveloped in silence. Kaede never knew the twins could handle quietness. It seemed like a dream – her dream, to be more precise. Based on her tale, it should be the "chase scene" next. But how could she be the princess? There was just no way.

"Young masters, we're being asked to stop," the well-groomed chauffeur stated as he began to slow down the limousine.

"Who is it?" The twins asked. Kaede had the urge to face-palm; must they always be coordinated? It got annoying after a while. Well, they were twins but still, would it hurt to speak in turn? Honestly, Kaede didn't know what made her more furious: her mother or the N*sync twins.

Kaede's train of silly thought was suddenly interrupted when Kaoru said, "Hey, Kaede-chan! Isn't that your car?"

She wasn't surprised. Rather, she had anticipated this reaction from her mother. There wasn't anything Shinju Kazue wanted that wasn't given to her. Kaede knew that, but she also knew that she wasn't about to give up without a proper fight. And it was high time her mother knew that as well.

"Don't stop!" Kaede commanded and her voice was so stern that the driver didn't care if it wasn't either of his masters speaking. He immediately sent the automobile speeding across the road.

"They're still chasing after us, you know," Hikaru stated, pretending to be bored by the turn of events when in reality, he was actually thoroughly amused with their new toy. She never failed to entertain; that was why he loved her so much. Scratch that last part – he didn't mean anything by it.

Kaede let her mind race with plans and schemes to avoid a confrontation. She wasn't ready for her mother yet. She just knew that Kazue would find some way, whatever that way would be, to get her to agree.

"I'm going to jump!" Kaede suddenly said – determination in her eyes as she stood.

"What? No, you're not!" Hikaru protested as he grabbed onto her sleeve.

"There's nothing but trees and grass out there, I'll be fine!" Kaede argued as she tried to pull away from the anxious boy.

"If you're going to jump, let me go with you!" Hikaru declared because he had to face the facts: Kaede would never listen to him and, as they say, _"if you can't beat them, join them!"_

"Shut up, the pair of you!" Kaoru yelled and the suicidal duo was easily halted in their scheming. "They'll know you jumped off and follow you instead and I bet neither of you would want to run against Kaede-chan's limo."

Well, that was true, Kaede couldn't argue with that. But she didn't want to involve the twins in her familial affairs; this was a matter between her mother and herself only. There was no real reason for the Hitachiin twins' to be included in such trivial matters.

"Just drop me off here, please," Kaede said, planning to run for her life the moment her mother saw her hop out of the car.

"We're not letting you go that easily, Kaede-chan," Hikaru murmured with tight arms around her shoulders.

"Yeah, you promised to spend your birthday with us," Kaoru second as he wrapped his arms around Kaede's waist.

She didn't know how, but she somehow found herself back in between the two little devils. And then. . . .

Kaede didn't know which was worse: facing her mother or being kidnapped by the twins. Surrendering herself to Kazue didn't seem like such a bad idea as she sat rigid between a pair of devilish twins.

"So what do we do now?" Kaede questioned, giving in to the twins. She knew they were having fun with this car chase.

"Well, we still have to go to the beach–"

"–because the Shadow King will kill us if we don't."

Kaede stared at each twin who spoke. What she hated worse than them speaking at the same time was them completing each other's sentences. But she obediently watched the little devils hatch up a plan without a peep. _'So this is how they do it. . .' _she thought, perturbed. She just imagined the two boys plotting about how to annoy her. It sent chills down her spine.

"But maybe we can take the long route? And tell Kyouya we did it 'cause there was heavy traffic?"

"Do you think Kyouya-senpai would buy that excuse?"

"Well, no, but that might mislead Kaede-chan's mother."

"Then we'll go the roundabout way to try and lose them but if we don't, we get to the beach anyway, disguise Kaede-chan so her mother won't recognize her, and give them wrong directions."

"Can we just go to the beach and disguise Kaede-chan right away? Wouldn't that be more efficient?"

"You just want to doll me up, Hikaru!" Kaede hissed as she realized where their plan was leading up to.

"He does have a point, Kaede-chan," Kaoru retorted with a playful smirk.

"And besides, we'd still have the chance to lose them," Hikaru added with the same Cheshire grin.

"You two are impossible!"

**.o:O:o.**

Regardless of Kaede's opinions on the matter, Hikaru and Kaoru decided on the go-to-the-beach-and-disguise-Kaede plan. Their driver was informed of the first part of the plan and asked to drive swiftly. All through the bumpy ride, the twins persisted to annoy the poor girl in between them. Kaede often needed to remind herself that this was way better than facing her mother; though there had been moments when she doubted even that. The twins didn't know when to stop having fun and unfortunately for the Shinju heiress, she was caught in the middle of it.

"Did we lose them yet?" Kaede asked for the umpteenth time in her vain attempts to distract the twins. It worked for about a few minutes before they decided that talking about the disguise plan was much more fun and irritating to her.

Trying to drown out the twins' teasing, Kaede filled her mind with thoughts. She stared resolutely at her bag, refusing to look at any one of the Hitachiins. She imagined the notebook that was inside which contained her story. This was the chase scene but she envisioned it to be more exciting – life-threatening even! Of course, she wouldn't want any one of them to get in a perilous situation (no matter how annoying the twins got, they too deserved to live.) And perhaps she was just over-thinking the likeness in her story. Fairytales were overrated anyway. Real life didn't have any happy endings. Besides, in her dream, the princess fell in love with one of the guards, which in her position would have been one of the twins. A picture of a twin kissing her formed in her mind. . .

_Pfft_.

She stifled a laugh. That was totally impossible.

**.o:O:o.**

The next thing she knew, she was lying on someone's lap. She didn't realize she'd fallen asleep. But what alarmed her wasn't the fact that there was someone caressing her hair. No, rather it was the fact that the limo had come to a full stop. Had they been caught already?

"What happened? Why did we stop?" Kaede demanded, still a bit groggy from sleep, as she turned her head up to face the twin who had become her own personal pillow: Hikaru.

The older twin awkwardly pulled his hand away from her head as if he was caught doing something _naughty_ and fumbled to find the words to answer her. Unable to look her in the eye, he suddenly found the scenery outside the window quite interesting. He prayed she wouldn't see his blush.

"Hikaru, what's wrong?" Kaede persisted, ignorant of the fact that she was emotionally harassing the poor boy.

Kaede sat upright and watched the normally boisterous twin as he was reduced to nerves. Her brows furrowed in anxiety as she waited for his response.

"We've stopped for gas!" Hikaru answered in a barely audible whisper.

"But what if they caught on to us?"

"We lost them a few minutes ago at the stop light," Kaoru informed Kaede, though his attention was on his weirdly behaving twin. "Besides we'll be caught if we stop in the middle of the road without any gas."

Kaede sighed with relief, completely forgetting about Hikaru's queer behavior. She still hadn't figured out how to handle her mother. She'd concocted plan A so far, in which she'd pick some poor boy and annoy him until he either refused to marry her or ran away. But then she realized that plan sounded too much like something the twins would come up with and quickly scrapped that idea. Perish the thought that she'd behave like the twins. Their influence must have been getting stronger over her. She decided that as soon as she could, she'd spend a bit less time under the influence.

"Uh-oh."

Kaede didn't like the sound of that. She followed Hikaru's gaze out the window and what she saw was _definitely_ an uh-oh. She would recognize that limo anywhere! They had caught up but the gas-up wasn't close to finishing. Was this the end? She hadn't even made it past plan A yet, and she most certainly wasn't giving up without a solid plan A and a sketchy plan B in her arsenal.

A sudden jerk pulled her out of her thoughts. She was being pulled out of the car by Hikaru and pushed faster by Kaoru. What were these two doing? Bloody traitors! They were giving her up!

"Let me go!" Kaede protested as she was literally dragged across the pavement; she wouldn't give in without a fight!

"We're getting you out of here!" Kaoru explained, realizing the reason for her fear.

"How the hell are you going to do that, huh?" Kaede asked, raising her brow in disbelief.

"Excuse me, we need to borrow your car," Hikaru declared as he grabbed the car keys from a man who was just getting into his Ferrari after paying for his gas.

"Hey!"

"Sorry, sir! This is an emergency!" Kaede screamed, too startled to actually justify the twins' act.

"You can use our limo over there! Ask our driver to take you anywhere!"

And before the man could reply, the three teens were in his car and driving away in a hurry.

It wasn't a very comfortable ride. Hikaru took the driver's seat and was maneuvering the car. He didn't seem to be very good at it but all the same, he at least knew what to do. She always had a driver take her wherever she wanted to go so she never thought much about it. But maybe she could get driving lessons after all. It seemed like fun. Well, it would be better than sharing the passenger seat with Kaoru. They wouldn't let her stay in the back. Kaoru said that she would have jumped out the door the next time she panicked and so he needed to keep a close eye on her. Hikaru second the idea. So, basically, she didn't have a choice.

"Hikaru, could you slow down?" Kaede asked as nicely as she could while gripping harder onto her seat.

"Do you want to be caught?" Hikaru questioned back at her rhetorically.

"Well, no. But isn't this dangerous? I mean, do you even have your license?" Kaede retorted apprehensively.

"No, but that doesn't matter now, does it?"

"Oh dear, we're going to kill ourselves!" she screamed in hysteria.

"Calm down, Kaede-chan!" Kaoru murmured into her ear in reassuring tones. "Maybe you should let me drive, Hikaru?"

"That's a complete waste of time. Besides, this is _my_ plan!" Hikaru answered, frowning at his younger brother.

"Hikaru, watch out!" Kaede shouted as she instinctively grabbed the steering wheel and turned it towards her.

"What the hell are you doing, Kaede?" Hikaru demanded, completely forgetting to use an honorific to her name. "Are you trying to get us killed?"

"That car was counter-flowing!" she reasoned out, looking a little frantic. She was telling the truth, however. She didn't normally ride on the passenger seat so when she saw a car heading right towards them (not knowing the other driver's true intention), she just panicked.

"Well, don't just randomly grab the steering wheel! I've got it under control!" Hikaru argued, enraged that Kaede almost killed them all.

"Watch the road, Hikaru," Kaoru warned, but his older sibling wasn't taking heed and he was ignored by the arguing pair.

"Well, I'm sorry for not wanting to commit suicide! Honestly, you'd be the death of me!" Kaede exclaimed, her face was red and she sounded really angry.

And that didn't help the situation one bit.

"I'm not going to get us killed, Kaede! If you'd just trust me –"

"How the hell am I ever going to trust you? You don't have a license and you drive like you're drunk!"

Please, she did not just insult his driving? Kaoru felt like he was caught in the middle of a lovers' quarrel. He felt the urge to roll his eyes. These two were just childish.

"So this is the thanks I get for trying to help you?" Hikaru glared at her menacingly.

"I told you I didn't want your help but do you ever listen?"

"It's not like you could have handled this on your own!"

"As if you're doing a better job than what I could have done!"

"Well then, why don't you just talk to your mother and get this all over with?"

"You know what, looking for a fiancé sounds better than staying another minute in this death cab," Kaede said and Kaoru was sure that hit the final nerve in his brother's already battered patience.

"Granny!"

"Did you just call me 'granny', Kaoru?" Kaede asked in complete surprise and even Hikaru watched his brother who was wide-eyed and frozen.

"No! Granny!" Kaoru screamed again and the other two followed his gaze towards the road where an old lady was crossing the street.

They were headed right for her. And sure enough, they crashed into her, but instead of getting crushed by the sports car, the granny was taken on a joy ride on the hood of the car. She held on tight for dear life while screaming incessantly at the 'rowdy hooligans' about their attempted murder.

"Stop the car, Hikaru!" Kaede yelled, concerned for the old woman being dragged into their chase.

"No, don't stop! Your mother's car is right behind us!" Kaoru argued as he checked the side mirror and saw the familiar black limousine on their tail.

"We're almost to the beach, anyway!" Hikaru added, trying to see the road over the huge obstruction.

Just then, Hikaru's phone rang to the tune of a popular French song. It was Tamaki; again.

"We don't need this kind of pressure," Kaoru muttered under his breath as he watched Hikaru answer the call after a short deliberation.

"We're kind of busy, Milord," he said before Tamaki could begin to scold them.

"_Busy with what? You two are missing out on the activities! Why haven't you arrived? We're supposed to do this as a family and –"_

"Look, Milord, weren't you the one who kept telling us to give priority to damsels in distress?" Hikaru countered, knowing this would shut the blonde up.

"_What exactly have you two rascals been up to?"_ Tamaki questioned, suddenly suspicious.

"I told you, Milord, we're saving a damsel in distress!" Hikaru answered and began to pass the phone to Kaede. "Talk to him," he ordered.

"Hello?"

"_Ah, my beautiful princess! What has happened? I pray that you are safe even with those evil little devils claiming to be your Prince Charmings!" _At the sound of a feminine voice, Tamaki transformed to his princely self.

"We're coming, Suou-senpai. Sorry for delaying the twins. They were doing me this huge favor," Kaede explained, face flushed at Tamaki's sweet talk.

"Ah! That is good to hear, milady. The Host Club is happy to help keep princesses like you happy."

Hikaru stepped on the breaks, grabbed his phone and hung up on the Host Club King, all the while pulling Kaede by the hand towards the sandy beach to get away from her mother. Unfortunately, Kaoru was left to face the wrath of the old lady they had unwillingly brought along with them.

"You see, we were being chased –"

"I've no time for petty excuses, boy! I could have been killed or did you not realize that?"

"We know, we're sorry, granny –"

"Don't you go calling me granny, boy! I'm not your granny!"

Kaede couldn't help but giggle at the younger twin's misfortune. What the old lady didn't know was that the driver was with her and she was reprimanding the innocent twin. That thought brought her back to the fact that Hikaru still had her hand in his and they were running together across the beach. If it wasn't for the fact that this was still the chase scene, it would have been rather romantic.

Hold on!

She did not just think she was having a romantic moment with this. . .this. . .abomination! He was annoying. How the hell would she fall in love with him? Although, he did go through any lengths to save her from her mom – that was rather _kind _of him. She couldn't believe she was thinking of Hitachiin Hikaru as _kind_. Was the world coming to an end?

"There you are, Hikaru or Kaoru!"

But the two just ran past the blonde second year, sending him to his corner of woe. They needed to get away. Kaede could already hear her mother calling out her name as her minions came after them. When Hikaru suddenly came to a complete halt, she bumped into him and would have fallen onto the sand if Hikaru hadn't caught her in time.

"Where do you think you two are going?"

"Kyouya-senpai?"

"You talked to my mother, didn't you?" Kaede quickly caught on to her upperclassman's motives. Of course, their families were strongly affiliated to each other. Her mother would have heard her plans to escape through the Host Club and quickly contacted Kyouya.

"Yes and she wouldn't mind it if I just carried you over to her right now," Kyouya replied with his demeanor ever so calm.

"Over my dead body!" Hikaru exclaimed as he grabbed her hand and dragged her back across the other end of the beach.

But Kaede's mother's men were already advancing from one end. Their only way to make a getaway was up the ragged cliff. So, together, they climbed. Three men were clambering up after them but Kaede dared not look back. Once they reached the top, it turned out to be a dead end. Their last hope was jumping into the sea. Kaede didn't seem to be keen on that idea.

"Kaede-chan, come on!" Hikaru practically ordered as he pulled on Kaede's hand.

"No! I – I can't! Ho – honestly, there's just no way!" Kaede stuttered turning back to see the muscular men reaching the peak as well.

"I've got you, don't worry,," Hikaru reassured her and, hesitantly, she came to the edge with him.

"We're going to jump on three."

"Can we not?"

"1,"

"I don't think this is such a good idea!"

"2,"

"Oh my gosh, I'm hydrophobic!"

"3!"

They dived into the raging sea. Kaede screamed all the way down, but Hikaru did not let her go, only when they ducked under the waters did it become next to impossible for him to hold on to her. The force of the water thrashed them about and even with combined efforts; the powerful waves tore them apart.

Hikaru was able to swim to the surface after a few seconds. Kaoru was running towards him with anxiety etched on his face. The rest of the host club rushed behind him, as well as a face Hikaru swore he never wanted to see again.

"Are you all right?"

He could only nod his head as he swam to shallower water. He might've drunk a bit of water but overall, he was fine. A little bit light-headed but nothing that seemed fatal.

"Where's Kaede?" Shichiro demanded from him; there was an edge to his tone that didn't sit well with him.

"She's bound to come up soon," Hikaru managed to respond, though his voice was a bit raspy.

"You idiot! Kaede doesn't know how to swim! She's scared of the water!" the taller teen yelled, furious.

Then, it struck Hikaru. The reason why she didn't want to jump – she said she was hydrophobic. _Shit._ She was drowning now, wasn't she? _Double shit_. It was his fault, wasn't it? _Shit, shit, shit!_

He dove back into the water and pried his eyes open even though it hurt his eyes. He had to find her. He needed to save her.

If he could shout out her name, he would have. Mind you, he tried but only bubbles came out. He swam farther, deeper into the sea. It was getting harder to hold his breath but he was not wasting any time. She _needed _him now.

Just like an answered prayer, he spotted her. Only, Shichiro had too. He wanted to be the one to save her. But how could he when the older guy was quicker and closer to her? And when he felt like he was about to drown himself, it seemed impossible. Wasn't there a happy ending for this story? He was supposed to be her prince. Why couldn't he save her?

And then, everything was shrouded in darkness.

* * *

**Emberwillow14:**_** Bom Bom !**_

**A/N: **_Awesome sound effects, Em! Thanks! ;) I hope that despite the cliffhanger, no one would murder me for it. xD This was not my Beta's fault this time. :))))) The continuation (as usual) will not be the next chapter. :p I'm evil that way. HAHAHA. But rather, it will be in Chapter L: Lifeguard.. :) Isn't it fitting? LOL. I've no idea for Chapter G, though so if you guys have any ideas, I'd like to hear them. =))))) Just give me a word and I'll do the rest. Pleeeeeeeeeeeease? thanks in advance to those who'd help! :D_

**Reviews Please~!**


	7. Games

**A/N: **Look who's back! It's me coming from beyond the grave, well, I don't mean that literally of course but I might as well have just been there because of all the things I've went through since the time I last posted. This especially long one-shot is my apology to everyone. I'm not going to let you wait any longer for those who actually read my author's notes, without further ado, Chapter G for Alphabetically Insane.

_Note: This chapter was not edited by anyone else but me so if there's anything wrong grammar-wise or even just typographical errors, I welcome readers to note it in their reviews. Please and thank you for your understanding :)_

**__DISCLAIMER: **I do not own anyone but my OCs although I wished I owned Kyouya. *sobs*

* * *

It would be troublesome to bother explaining how Shinju Kaede ended up in one of the Ootori beaches with the whole host club and why she was forced to wear a parka over her favorite new bikini. But since she needed to distract herself from the pesky twins that seemed to follow her around wherever she went, she figured, what the hell?

_It all started in the Third Music Room about three days ago..._

Spring break was just around the corner and the host club was yet again planning on where they could kidnap their newest member. It was a bit tasking because most of their schemes involved getting on a plane and taking a vacation overseas. Kyouya repeatedly trashed Tamaki's out of the country ideas because they had to note that Haruhi didn't have her passport.

"We could go hiking up a mountain and be at one with nature!" Tamaki stated another one of his more hare-brained ideas.

"But we'd have to climb a mountain!" the twins whined. Rich bastards as they were, the thought of physical exertion was just ludicrous.

And then, as if on cue, Kyouya re-entered the Third Music Room after having excused himself to take a call. A small smirk was apparent in his cool facade as he walked back to where he left his laptop. Quite cautiously, as if afraid to burst his best friend's bubble of happiness, Tamaki approached the Shadow King. What could have made him so happy?

"Did something happen?" Tamaki asked, unable to contain his curiosity.

"Yes. I know where we'll be spending Spring Break," Kyouya answered with a sort of satisfied grin as he adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose.

_Meanwhile in the Shinju Manor..._

Kaede thanked the chauffeur for opening the car door for her as she walked into the double doors of her palacial home. It was a tiring day for her since she spent half the time running away from Hikaru and Kaoru. They were deluded into thinking she would enjoy spending Spring Break in their company. On the contrary, she was looking forward to being free from their presence.

"Welcome home, Kaede-sama," the maids greeted as they lined up before her and curtsied.

Kaede nodded her head once, too exhausted to actually tell them off for calling her 'Kaede-sama'. She hated the use of that suffix. It made her sound old. But at the moment, she just wasn't in the mood. She went straight up to her room, only stopping to greet her mother in her office.

She knocked on the heavy oak door and peaked inside the well-furnished room. "Hi, mom, I'm -"

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Kazue exclaimed ecstatically, cutting Kaede's statement short.

With one brow raised, Kaede wondered who on earth her mother was talking to with such informality. Out of curiosity, she approached her mother's desk and sat on one of the plush seats. It felt rather awkward; as if she was in the principal's office for doing something bad instead of just wanting to speak to her mom.

"Yes, we'll see you soon."

Kazue laughed heartily and then smiled. Kaede grew even more curious. She resisted the urge to ask her questions aloud. It would have been rather rude to interrupt. She decided to wait for her mom to end the call, which was soon after they said good-bye.

"Who was that?" Kaede questioned before Kazue could form a decent greeting.

Kazue turned to her daughter and smiled radiantly. 'Uh oh,' Kaede thought. There were a couple of things Kaede noticed about her mother despite her constant absence from her life. One is that she was eager to find the perfect fiance for her daughter; and the second is that when she was this happy, it usually meant that Kaede was in for another unwelcome surprise. Kaede wondered, 'What could it be this time?'

_And now, only a few minutes prior to having the flashback..._

Shinju Kaede, opting to make the best of her vacation with the Host Club, hummed a soft tune as she stepped out of the dressing shed. She donned a very cute yet very sexy two-piece swimsuit. It was white with soft pink polka-dots. To venture off her usual style, she put her short brown hair into two low pigtails held together by pink ribbons. Her emerald eyes were hidden behind large sunglasses.

She could feel all eyes staring at her as she strutted towards a shady area of the beach. It's not like this would be the first time they saw a girl in a bikini before, right?

'What a bunch of idiots,' Kaede thought as she rolled her eyes at the twins who always seemed to be drawn to her. She realized that it wasn't always a good thing; especially if you attract such beings like the twin devils.

"What do you two want this time?" Kaede asked as she pulled her sunglasses down to look at Hikaru and Kaoru.

"What are you wearing a bikini for?" Hikaru asked; she assumed he was Hikaru because he was usually the first to speak.

"If you haven't noticed, Hikaru-baka, we're at the beach." Kaede replied, arms at her waist, challenging the twins to fire a retort.

"So what?" said Hikaru.

"Yeah, you're not going to swim anyway. What's the point?" Kaoru, she determined by process of elimination (if the first guy was Hikaru then the other one must be Kaoru), added in support to his brother's vague response.

"The point is I want to wear it." Kaede stated obstinately.

Hikaru took out a parka from who-knows-where and handed it to Kaede. She stared at him, obviously annoyed. What the hell was the problem with these two?

"Wear it." the two chorused.

"I'm not wearing that stupid parka! What's wrong with what I'm wearing anyway?" Kaede screamed, pushing away the hands that were forcibly getting her to wear the hideous parka over her cute polka-dotted bikini.

"This wouldn't be happening if you wore a one-piece swimsuit!" Hikaru replied, grabbing onto Kaede's wrists so that his brother could get the parka over her head.

"We wouldn't have to do this if you wore something that didn't show off too much skin, Kaede-chan." Kaoru told Kaede albeit more calmly than his brother.

"What am I? Three-years-old? You two are acting like my father! I don't have to dress up to please you! I-" Kaede was ranting but her response was cut short. In her desperate attempts to push off the twins, she stumbled backwards onto the sand and took the older of the two down with her.

The blush seemed to rush to Kaede's face as she only now noticed Hikaru's bare chest. Of course, he was dressed appropriately for the beach; shirtless and wearing only a pair of board shorts. Their faces were just centimeters apart and Kaede could've sworn she felt his lips on hers if only for a few milliseconds. She could feel his warm breath on her face as they stared into each other's eyes.

"Hey, are you both all right?" Kaoru came to the aid of his brother and their toy. The two seemed to have come out of some sort of trance as Kaoru's voice pierced the silence.

"Yeah," Hikaru replied, taking his brother's outstretched arm to help him up.

As Kaede laid down on the sand, face still beet red from the strange and awkward encounter with the older twin, her thoughts raced. Why was her heart beating so fast? Why was she so affected by him? When did she become so aware of him, anyway? A few minutes ago, he was just Hikaru Hitachiin, the most annoying abomination in her existence. Now, he was Hikaru Hitachiin, the guy who probably (but accidentally) stole her first kiss. It didn't help that her heart was pounding violently against her chest.

"Kaede-chan, are you okay? You're really red." Kaoru noticed when she still hadn't gotten up.

"F - fine. I'll wear your stupid parka. Give me it." Kaede grumbled as she sat up and reached for the cloth in Kaoru's hand.

She pulled it over her head as she stood up from the sandy ground. She ignored the hands that were offered to help her up. She just wanted to get away from them now.

"I hope you're happy," she whined as she glared at the two of them before stalking off.

**.o:O:o.**

She knew this vacation was not going to be fun. She knew it the moment her mother told her she had to go with the Host Club. Kaede was never asked if she wanted to go. She was kidnapped; only, they had parental consent. Shinju Kazue practically sold her off to these handsome demons.

"Those pesky twins...think they can do whatever they want...don't even know who they're up against...who do they think they are...telling me what to do...not even my dad..." Kaede mumbled wrapping her arms around her knees as she sat in the most deserted part of the beach.

"It's unhealthy to talk to yourself, Kaede."

That voice; Kaede knew it so well. But it was deeper and scarier in person than it was on the phone. She shot upright in surprise and turned to face him.

"Kyouya-senpai!" She exclaimed. And then she wondered aloud, "How did you find me?"

"The whole host club is looking for you. You missed lunch." Kyouya explained simply. As he said this, he approached her and pulled the sleeve of the parka up her shoulders. Kaede cringed away from the contact and held the parka close to her body so it wouldn't fall down again.

"I don't want to be here..." She whispered, avoiding eye contact with the Shadow King.

"You should try to enjoy yourself. A lot of girls would kill to be you right now, you know. In fact, they would actually pay a ludicrous amount to spend spring break with the Host Club." Kyouya told her as he adjusted his glasses.

"Knowing you, you would have preferred that. That's why I don't get why I have to be here! You could have made a fortune selling your time to those girls who adore the Host Club. Why me?"

It took some time for Kaede to piece together everything but when she remembered her mom and that phone call that gave her the giggles for an entire week, her anger flared.

"YOU!" Kaede screamed, pointing an accusing finger at her upperclassman.

"Me?" Kyouya replied feigning innocence. Honestly, it didn't suit him.

"You talked my mother into this! I thought it was the twins who charmed my mother to sell me off to the host club but it was you all along! You bloody traitor!" Kaede was fuming. She actually wanted to punch him.

"Ah, contrary to your accusations, Kaede, it was your mother who called me." Kyouya explained truthfully.

"What did she want?" Kaede asked but she knew what it was even before Kyouya gave her a response.

"She asked if I knew anyone who would be fit to be your fiancé. Naturally, the Host Club came to mind." Kyouya told her with a shrug of his shoulders as if it was obvious. And that it was. Kazue would do anything to set her daughter up. Although she knew her mother meant well, Kaede still disliked her mother's methods.

"My mother likes you a lot already, what more can you gain by doing this?" Kaede questioned, pacified for the meantime.

"Your mother is a valuable contact whom I cannot ignore. It's bad business to deny her request." It was a typical Kyouya response. Even when it came to the affairs of the heart, it was all just business to him.

"Aren't you scared she'll make you my fiancé again?" Kaede asked him but she never bothered to hear his reply. She walked away from him then, knowing from the beginning that she had no choice. She could never convince Ootori Kyouya to be on her side.

From afar, two pairs of hazel eyes watched the unusual exchange. The brunettes wondered to themselves: since when were Ootori Kyouya and Shinju Kaede that close? There was only one way to find out.

**.o:O:o.**

_That same evening..._

After dinner, the host club plus their special guest decided to stay in the lounge to relax. Kaede wasn't keen on the idea but was coaxed into staying. It took little effort on Kyouya's part; just a few dirty tricks to blackmail her into trying to enjoy the vacation.

"I swear if they see that, I'm going to kill you. Of course, I'd hire professional assassins so I wouldn't have to get my hands dirty but I'll have them get it all on tape so I can watch just how much they torture you before they finally kill you!" Kaede whispered harshly as she entered the lounge in a huff.

As it turns out, Tamaki had made it the Host Club's mission to ascertain that Shinju Kaede had the best (if not better than the worst) vacation she ever had. Although Kyouya argued that the basis of Kaede's best vacation was immeasurable, Tamaki's enthusiasm couldn't be expelled. The rest of the club agreed with their president.

"Was there a reason why we can't be in bed at this hour?" Kaede questioned the club; it was obvious that she was in a very bad mood. Her stern tone paired with her intense glare was enough to send Tamaki into a dark corner to mope.

"We're on vacation, Ka-chan! We shouldn't be sleeping so early!" Honey replied, his undeterred cuteness almost breaking through Kaede's defenses. Almost.

"How about we play a game?" Hikaru suggested, a sinister smirk planted on his face.

"If it's the 'Which-one-is-Hikaru Game', I'm not playing." Kaede replied, still in a foul mood.

"It's no fun when Haruhi can win!" Kaoru whined, sticking his tongue out to the petite brunette.

Haruhi rolled her eyes and deadpanned. There was no point in replying to this childishness. She simply sat quietly in her seat while sipping tea.

"So let's play a commoner's game!" the twins said in chorus.

"A commoner's game? As King, I approve! What is this commoner game that you speak of?" Tamaki, suddenly not depressed anymore, jumped out from his corner of woe and in his overbearing confidence reacted to the twins' suggestion.

"The game is called: _Spin the bottle!_" Hikaru announced with conviction.

"I don't get the point of this—" before Kyouya could finish his rant about how mindless this game will be, the twins interrupted by stating the rules.

"Everyone will form a circle and we'll spin a bottle in the middle of our circle. Whoever the bottle points to must choose between answering a question truthfully or completing a dare," Kaoru explained with a smirk.

"After he or she has done what is asked, we spin the bottle again!" Hikaru finished with a flourish; already he and his twins had dares in mind.

"I'll pass." Kaede blurted out, knowing that she would not enjoy this game at all.

"Ah, but Kaede-chan, everyone must participate!" the twins exclaimed, picking Kaede up from the sofa and bringing her to the carpeted floor where everyone else (some more begrudgingly than others) already formed a circle.

The devilish twins kept Kaede between them so there was no escape. Much as she tried to get out of it, it was annoying to be pestered by the twins and it would have been more irritating if Tamaki had gone to his corner to sulk. Yeah, she was better off just getting on with whatever game wanted to play. It would be over soon enough.

Tamaki was the first to spin the bottle; he made such a fuss about it too.

"I'm the King, so I should get to spin first!" he said with his hands crossed over his chest as he towered over the twins.

"But it was our idea!" Hikaru and Kaoru said in unison.

They bantered for a few minutes before Haruhi came into the middle of it and hit the arguing parties with the bottle. And then she said, "It doesn't matter who spins first! Everyone will get a turn."

And with that, the game began. Honey was chosen first and he asked for a dare. But since he was so cute, the only dare anyone could give him was to eat a whole cake (much to his amusement.) From then, the hosts came one after another; but not one of them was choosing truth. When at last it was Hikaru's turn to spin, the bottle landed on Kaede. The smirk on the elder twin's face was obvious.

'I'm doomed...' Kaede thought as she muttered, "Dare."

"Ah, we have prepared a dare especially for Kaede-chan." Hikaru and Kaoru were saying, their eyes clearly showing their mischievous intent. Kaede could only swallow in anxiety.

"Uh.." Kaede began trying to think of a way to escape before she could regret it. "On second thought, can I choose truth instead?"

"Brave choice, Kaede-chan! Since your choosing truth, give me your hands," Kaoru instructed as he reached out for her hands.

Confused, Kaede reluctantly raised her hands toward Kaoru. It was times like these that Kaede managed to note the difference between the twins. Kaoru's gentleness was the exact opposite of Hikaru's rashness.

"Put your hands together like this and spread your fingers," Kaoru said as he positioned her fingers correctly. Hikaru then chose this moment to interrupt.

"If you won't answer truthfully, I'll have to punish you, Kaede-chan!" Hikaru told her with a smirk.

"What punishment?" Kaede asked, slightly distracted with the feel of Hikaru's warm hands on hers.

"This!" Hikaru exclaimed as he squeezed Kaede's hands together making her scream out loud.

"OW!" Kaede yelled, trying to wrench her fingers free from Hikaru's vice-like grip. "What the hell was that for?" She demanded from him.

"Punishment," Hikaru answered simply. "Are you sure you want to choose truth?" He then asked, challenging her.

"I'm sure!" Kaede replied, looking determined.

"All right. So, Kaede-chan, do you have a boy friend?" Hikaru asked obviously curious.

"Is it really necessary for me to answer - HEY!" Hikaru, once again administering the cruel punishment on her defenseless fingers, interrupted Kaede's remark.

"You should just answer the question, Kaede-chan~" the twins chimed in singsong voices.

"No, I don't have a boy friend and I'd like it very much if you would let go of my hand now." She answered, seeming to be really cross with the devilish twins although no one from the Host Club were really surprised. Either they knew how irritating the twins could oftentimes be or they were aware of just how much Hikaru and Kaoru pissed Kaede off on a daily basis. Perhaps it was a little bit of both.

Feeling dejected at how honest Kaede's answer was and scared at how angry she was becoming and of what the consequences of her anger would be, Hikaru released her shaking fingers albeit reluctantly. An awkward silence followed Kaede's turn but she pretended not to notice. Without flinching, she spun the bottle and waited until it stopped at one of the hosts.

A few turns later when the awkwardness died down and the fun was back, Kyouya finally got a turn and the twins bravely challenged the almighty Shadow King. He chose truth.

"Kyouya-senpai," the twins began, pointing towards the aforementioned upper class man. "What is your relationship with Kaede-chan?"

"What kind of stupid question is that?" Kaede asked, appalled by her inclusion in the Shadow King's truth question.

"Mommy, you never told daddy about you and Kaede-chan!" Tamaki whined with tearful eyes; he couldn't take the fact that Kyouya might've been hiding something as important as a relationship with a girl.

"Kyo-chan has a girl friend?" Honey inquired as he looked up at Mori.

Kyouya visibly sighed as he poised himself to answer the ludicrous question. "Kaede is not my girl friend," he stated as he adjusted his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"That's not the question, Kyouya-senpai!" Hikaru retorted, refusing to give up on his theory. If they weren't together how could they explain that scene on the beach? Or how Kyouya himself demanded Kaede's participation in the Host Club vacation?

"I've known Kaede since she was in middle school because the Ootori family and the Shinju family have been affiliates for a long time. And your question is what is my relationship with her? Well, I used to be her fiancé," Kyouya explained in detail for the benefit of the curious twins and his annoying best friend.

Once again, the honesty to which his question was answered threw Hikaru off. Judging by Kaede's reaction, what the shadow king said was true. She wouldn't be blushing if she believed Kyouya was bluffing. And the thought that Kaede would have to marry Kyouya was not as pleasant a surprise as finding out she didn't have a boy friend.

"Used to be?" Kaoru asked, curious at the past tense Kyouya used to describe their relationship.

"I believe you're only allowed one question," Kyouya replied, finding it amusing to know something they did not. Besides, the story of their "break-up" was a story best told in another chapter.

Without further ado, Kyouya spun the bottle around in their tight circle. By now, Kaede was so completely out of it that it took awhile before she realized she was once again involved in someone else's truth or dare.

"I dare you to spend seven minutes in the closet with Kaede," Kyouya demanded and the twin in question tried not to appear like he cared; not that anyone in the room couldn't already see that he actually was really affected.

"That's technically a different game," muttered Haruhi but rich bastards as they were, no one listened to her.

"Don't I get a say in this?" Kaede questioned when she was finally aware of her predicament. But one look at Kyouya and she knew she couldn't refuse. There was much she never learned about Ootori Kyouya when they were "_together_" but she was sure that whatever he had up his sleeves, especially in cases of blackmail, was really something to be concerned about. Suffice to say Kyouya had sources and it wouldn't hurt to get on his good favor.

Without much choice, the two participants of the dare were led to the closest unused closet. Kaede stopped in front of the closet door, stalling and trying to figure out a way to get out of this. Seven minutes alone with the most annoying little devil didn't seem like much fun. It didn't help that Kaede was debating with herself whether or not the older Hitachiin stole her first kiss. Getting in that closet was the worst idea ever and she had to do something to stop it from happening.

"Hey, uhm—"

Before she could even make up her mind on how to avoid the dare, the host club had pushed her into the closet with Hikaru. In her surprise at the sudden course of events, she lost her footing and stumbled into the darkness beyond the threshold. Hikaru stretched out his arms to catch her fall. His arms wrapped around the small of her waist and abruptly her decent to the floor was cut short.

"So, you two, seven minutes starts...now!" Kaoru announced as he noted the time on his watch and gleefully closed the closet door, enveloping Kaede and his twin into pitch-black darkness.

It was silent inside the closet for what seemed to Kaede to be more than seven minutes but it was hardly thirty seconds when she whispered in the most controlled voice that she could muster given the circumstances, "Please let me go..."

Hikaru was too startled by her tone that was both serious and scared to actually do as she said. Her body was warm against his skin and he wondered what it would be like to really hug her; to wrap his arms around her and to feel her do the same. Sooner than he wanted, he felt her pull against his arms.

"Let go..." She whined, uncomfortable beyond belief.

Despite only knowing the twins for a short time, she at least knew that Hikaru wasn't the gentle one. It had always been Kaoru who showed a softer side. So, she definitely did not expect how gently Hikaru wrapped his arms around her or how it made the heat rush to her face just feeling his skin brushing against hers in their awkward embrace.

When she was finally able to squirm out of his grip, another seemingly long silence enveloped them. And Hikaru couldn't take it. She was standing right in front of him (at least he thought she was; it was too dark to tell for sure) and he finally got the chance to talk to her alone. He had to ask. He realized then that he wasn't ever going to get a chance like this, not anytime soon at least. He had about five more minutes with her.

"Hikaru-kun,"

"Kaede-chan,"

They called each other's name at the same time. Hikaru was taken aback. Did she know what he was about to ask? It was impossible, wasn't it?

"You go first," Kaede suggested, assuming that they were thinking the same thing and not wanting to start the conversation herself.

"Ladies first," Hikaru countered, also wishing she would say whatever she had to say for as long as it bought him some time to think about what he was about to ask.

Still believing they were on the same page, Kaede blushed profusely. She could remember so clearly how close Hikaru had been. She wasn't sure if they kissed or if she just imagined it. Lately, her dreams had a knack for invading her thoughts even in her waking hours.

But Hikaru assumed differently. He thought that it was Kyouya that was making her blush. A vile feeling crept inside him. It was a feeling he knew so well, however, he couldn't help but wonder why he would feel this strong jealousy over Kaede. Kaede was only their toy so why did it seem important that no one else but he and his twin could have her? It was a possessiveness that he had only felt before with Kaoru but now it seemed it applied to her as well.

"Are you in love with Kyouya-senpai?" He blurted out without thinking, the pressure inside him built up too much to even think of the words before it came out of his mouth.

However, he did not get the reaction He expected to see. He thought she would blush deeper and look away like how girls usually were when talking about the guy they were in love with. But Kaede did not blush nor look away. In fact, she looked more stunned than embarrassed. And when her initial shock finally wore off, she laughed. She laughed so hard her knees buckled and she fell on her knees on the floor. Somehow, the relief that flooded through Hikaru was so intense that he too felt the need to sit down. Slowly, he laughed with her.

"If you don't love him then why do you two seem so close?" Hikaru wondered aloud between fits of laughter.

"Because he's my mother's favorite. Among all her business associates' sons, he's the one she favors the most. I don't really know why, he can just make all mothers fall in love with him. He's scary that way," Kaede explained with a thoughtful expression.

"So you don't like him at all?" Hikaru pressed trying to figure out if she was lying.

"No." Kaede said with finality, raising one brow at Hikaru in question. "Why are you asking me all these weird questions?"

Hikaru, embarrassed at having been questioned about his strange uncharacteristic inquiries, grasped at the first thought that came to his mind to change the topic.

"Uh-uh, it's your turn, Kaede-chan!" Hikaru said feigning mischievousness. "What was it that you wanted to ask?"

At the reminder of what was previously on her mind, Kaede blushed again. She was thankful for the darkness, which curtained her crimson cheeks from his view. Of course he would wonder what was on her mind and she was disappointed that they hadn't been on the same page as she thought earlier. Should she ask about it though? If she were wrong then she wouldn't hear the end of it from Hikaru. Then again, if she was right then she had to make him pay for stealing her first kiss!

"Uh..." Kaede took a deep breath, attempting to phrase her query in a way that wouldn't sound like she was hoping the answer was "yes". It wasn't like she wanted him to kiss her. Completely the opposite, she would be devastated to find out if the kiss truly happened. This was her last chance to find out.

"At the beach earlier..." She began, pausing a bit to see if he remembered. "When we fell over on the sand, I think... I felt like we... No, you-" Kaede stuttered, feeling like she was lighting up the room with her bright red face. "...Kissed me," she finally managed, unable to look him in the eye.

Hikaru thought for a moment about that morning. He remembered bullying her into that parka when she wore an incredibly cute but overly showy bikini. Just when he was about to get it over her head, her foot slipped from under her and both of them collapsed on the sand. Sure enough, there was the briefest of moments when his lips touched hers. It was short, because he had pulled himself up before he could crush her with his weight but he guessed that all things considered, a kiss that short couldn't even count as one.

"So? What's your question?" Hikaru replied; his eyes, which were already accustomed to the darkness, were able to notice her discomfort.

"Did we really—? I mean, was it an actual…kiss?" She couldn't get the word out without stuttering; she wanted to kick herself for sounding so embarrassed while Hikaru looked as if it wasn't such a big deal. But it was a big deal, at least to her. Her first kiss was important to her; her first shouldn't be with someone she didn't like. Her first kiss should have been special.

"Well, I guess? But does it really matter?" Hikaru, still thinking nothing of it because they both had to face the facts, it was hardly a millisecond long. Technically speaking however, their lips did touch so it could be called a kiss.

"Does it matter?" Kaede whispered, her voice shaking with an emotion she couldn't quite pinpoint. "Of course it matters! That was my first kiss and for it to be stolen by someone like you—" she paused, surprising him by grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. "Give it back! Give it back! Give it back…" Her voiced cracked as she grabbed Hikaru by his collar and she could feel hot tears threatening to spill from her eyes. But she couldn't let him see her cry too so just as Kaoru was about to open the door to signal the end of their dare, she burst out of the room, looking down so no one could see her tears. Hikaru was left on the floor of the closet looking horrorstruck by the intensity of her reaction.

In his self-absorbed male mind, he wondered, "What just happened?"

* * *

**SECOND A/N: **Just a heads up, I meant no offense to guys by what I wrote on the last line. I'm not generalizing that men are self-absorbed, it just so happens that Hikaru is. So I don't mean all male are self-absorbed, I just mean Hikaru is. :) So please don't hate on me xD Leave a review! It keeps me alive :))


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